


Life Changes

by southernbellesoccer



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-26 04:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 48,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2638040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southernbellesoccer/pseuds/southernbellesoccer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't claim that anything in this story could be realistic. Keep that in mind when reading.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Uggggh, I don’t understand how those two can pass all of their classes when they spend the whole day groping each other.” Megan groaned in annoyance as she watched her two high school soccer teammates flirt shamelessly in the middle of art class. The goalkeeper and the defender seemed to be inseparable. 

“I don’t get it either.” Whitney, the goalkeeper’s bestfriend admitted. “If they’re not careful they could lose their eligibility to play if their grades slip.”

“That’s the last thing we need. Although, I don’t think its Ali’s grades we have to worry about, just Ashlyn.” Alex, the team’s freshman forward spoke up.

About that time they all turned back to the couple as they heard Ali giggle, then their eyes found where Ashlyn’s hand was slowly creeping up the defender’s skirt and they all rolled their eyes. 

“That’s disgusting to be doing in class, and it’s 8 o’clock in the morning.” Abby, the captain and a senior on the team, admitted. 

“Ms. Harris, Ms. Krieger, do you care to tell me why you haven’t completed today’s assignment?” the teacher asked as she stood directly in front of the couple’s shared table and looked down at both of the girls’ blank papers sitting on the desk.

Ashlyn and Ali both cut a look at each other and Ali hung her head in embarrassment as Ashlyn lightly chuckled. “Sorry Mrs. Grey. Guess we got distracted.” Ashlyn spoke.

“Distracted by what exactly?” the teacher wasn’t going to let it go that easy, she despised how her art class was always filled with athletes each year looking for an easy grade.

“Well, it’s not hard to get distracted when all you have us doing is something as simple as charcoal drawings. You literally haven’t taught us anything new in the last two weeks.” Ashlyn said and Ali’s head snapped up when she heard Mrs. Grey gasp.

“Ashlyn.” Ali harshly whispered and kicked her girlfriend under the table.

“Owww, What?” Ashlyn said as she looked to the brunette and bent to rub her hurt leg.

“Apologize.” Ali said sternly, unable to fathom how her girlfriend could think its ok to say something like that to a teacher.

“Oh, no. Don’t make her apologize, Ms. Krieger. It’s far too late for that.” Mrs. Grey said to Ali. “I’ll just make sure to speak to Alexandra’s father after school about how his star goalkeeper has detention tomorrow afternoon.”

Ashlyn groaned in disagreement and Ali kicked her again under the table. “Shut-up. My dad will be pissed enough.” Ali said to her as Mrs. Grey turned to go back to her desk as they all waited for the bell to ring. 

Ali’s dad was the head coach of the girls’ soccer team and he also happened to be the P.E. teacher, this was both a blessing and a curse for the goalkeeper who was a junior in high school. Overall, Coach Krieger liked Ashlyn on the field, and he liked her well enough off the field also, but Ashlyn dating his precious little girl was enough to cause both him and Ashlyn anxiety. 

The bell rang and they all shuffled out of the classroom and towards their next class. “Didn’t you say that we didn’t have practice this afternoon because your dad had to take your grandfather to the doctor? Doesn’t that mean that the Art Nazi won’t be able to find him till tomorrow to tell him I got in trouble?” Ashlyn asked as she linked hands with her girlfriend and followed their teammates. 

“Yes, we don’t have practice. But remember that Mrs. Grey practically has my dad on speed dial because of you.”

“I hate her.” Ashlyn admitted and pulled her backpack up a little higher on her shoulder.

“Maybe you should consider not talking back to her next time before we lose our goalkeeper because she’s been suspended for to many detentions.” Whitney scolded her friend. 

“Whatever.” Ashlyn said as she shoved her friend’s shoulder and walked past her into their next class dragging Ali behind her. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Hey, stud.” Ali said as she came up behind Ashlyn at her locker and wrapped her arms around her.

“What’s up, princess?” the blonde asked as she shut her locker and turned around in her girlfriend’s arms.

“Welllll, you know my dad’s with my grandfather, and my mom was going to meet them at the doctor after she got finished running some errands. Sooooo, my house is free if you maybe wanted to come over and study.” The defender suggested as she pulled Ashlyn close by the strings of her soccer hoodie and placed a kiss on the goalkeeper’s jaw.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. “No parents?” 

“None.” Ali assured her. Ali knew that Ashlyn loved her parents and that her parents loved Ashlyn. But Ashlyn, even after a year of dating and 2 years of being best friends, was still cautious of what Ali’s dad thought of her, both as a coach and as her girlfriend’s dad.

Ashlyn smirked and leaned down to peck Ali’s lips quickly. “Count me in then.”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ken cringed as he walked into the house behind his wife and could hear his daughter scream from upstairs. “We have to put a stop to this, Deb.” The coach said with a shake of his head as he helped his wife carry in a few bags.

Deb laughed and patted her husband’s arm. “At least it’s not a boy that has no respect for us and could get her pregnant. Instead, it’s a girl, who has no chance of getting our little girl pregnant and, more importantly, is terrified of you.”

“They’re juniors in high school. They shouldn’t be worried about having sex. If she was dating a boy we wouldn’t let this happen. Why should it be any different because she’s dating Ashlyn?” Ken grunted and moved to the bottom of the stairs before yelling up them. “ASHLYN MICHELLE HARRIS! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY DAUGHTER’S BED!”

It wasn’t two second later that Mr. and Mrs. Krieger heard a loud thud and then some cursing. They both chuckled and shook their heads as they heard Ashlyn hurry down the stairs. “Hi, Coach. Hi, Ms. Deb. Bye, Coach. Bye, Ms. Deb.” Ashlyn rushed out as she headed for the front door, too embarrassed to look at either one of her girlfriend’s parents.

“Ashlyn, sweetie, wait.” Deb said gently as she grabbed the girl’s arm. “You can stay for dinner. We are having BBQ. We would love to have you.” 

Ashlyn debated for a second, she always liked having dinner with the Krieger family. Ashlyn lived with her grandmother, she had a rough childhood that ended with her parents leaving her and her older brother, Chris, in the care of their grandmother. Chris was now in college and dating a girl that he had gotten pregnant, Ashlyn supposedly had a nephew she had never met. But Ali’s parents were great to Ashlyn. Ever since the Krieger family moved to Satellite Beach, Fla. during Ali and Ashlyn’s freshman year, the Krieger’s had quickly adopted Ashlyn into their lives. They were the family that Ashlyn had missed out on having, and she really appreciated how they had taken her in as a part of their family. It wasn’t unusual for her to stay for dinner or spend the night, but it also wasn’t every day that her girlfriend’s parents came home while she was fucking their daughter upstairs. 

“Ummm, I actually told my grandma that I would be at home for dinner. But thank you for the offer.” Ashlyn said as she made-up the excuse.

“Anytime, sweetie.” Deb responded and reached to give Ashlyn a hug.

Ashlyn returned the hug and just as she was about to leave she heard her name being yelled from the stairs and spotted Ali rushing down them. “Babe, wait!” Ali came running down wearing a pair of Nike shorts and Ashlyn’s soccer hoodie that said ‘Harris’ on the back.

“What’s up?” Ashlyn stopped by the door.

“Remember that you have to study for your chemistry quiz tomorrow. If you have any questions make sure you call me tonight. Don’t wait for me to explain it to you tomorrow right before class.” Ali instructed.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child, Alex. I remember.”

“I know. Just making sure. Goodnight. I love you.” Ali said as she moved in to give her a hug. 

“Love you too.” Ashlyn said sincerely and placed a kiss to Ali’s forehead before waving to Mr. and Mrs. Krieger and leaving.

As soon as the door closed Ali turned to go back upstairs but Deb stopped her.

“We’re about to eat dinner, honey. Why don’t you come set the table? I just picked up some BBQ on the way home.”

“Ok!” Ali quickly agreed and started towards the kitchen.

Ken shook his head as he watched her walk off and noticed her clothing choice. “I don’t understand why I order your soccer stuff with our last name on it when you seem to like the ‘Harris’ name more.” He teased as he noticed the name on hoodie that his daughter was wearing.

“It’s not the name, daddy, this one smells like Ashlyn.” Ali informed him as they both walked into the kitchen.

Ken raised his eyebrow at that and Ali noticed with a smirk. “Well, the last name isn’t too bad either, but don’t worry, I’m still a Krieger for now.”

Ken rolled his eyes. “For now? I didn’t realize that my goalkeeper was going to steal my little girl from me.”

Ali smiled and moved to wrap her dad up in a hug. “She didn’t steal me.”

“I know, sweetheart. I just want you to stay my little girl forever.”

Ali giggled and then she heard her dad’s cellphone start to ring. 

Ken pulled away from his daughter and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “Mrs. Grey? What does she want?” he groaned as he looked down at his phone.

Ali bit her lip and let her dad step away to answer the phone. She pulled out her phone and texted her girlfriend: ‘looks like you’ll be running laps at practice, the Art Nazi just called.’ 

‘fuck my life,’ Ashlyn responded and Ali giggled as she set her phone down and began to help her mom. She didn’t care what anyone   
thought about her girlfriend, Ali thought she was amazing.

~~ ~~~ ~~ Two Days Later~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Ms. Harris, so good to see you. I was afraid something might have happened to you since you didn’t show up for detention yesterday.” Mrs. Grey said as soon as Ali and Ashlyn walked into Art Class. 

Ali shot her eyes to Ashlyn and gave her a stern look that Ashlyn tried to avoid. “You skipped?” 

Ashlyn hung her head and Ali stared at her for a few seconds longer before turning to Mrs. Grey. “She’ll be here this afternoon.” Ali promised her. “I’ll personally make sure of it.”

Mrs. Grey nodded and looked pleased. As much as the woman couldn’t stand the blonde goalkeeper, she had to appreciate that she dated someone like Ali who would try to keep her in line.

“If you didn’t go to detention yesterday then why weren’t you on time for practice?” Abby asked as Ali and Ashlyn sat down.

Ashlyn shrugged. “I was trying to convince Mr. Thomas to let me retake my Chemistry quiz.”

“Retake? You said that you thought you did well on it. You didn’t ask me for help because you said you understood it.” Ali chastised. 

“Yeah, that was a lie. I failed that thing.” Ashlyn admitted.

Ali sighed and shook her head. “You’re so irresponsible, Ashlyn. Our season is coming up, you have to be more concerned about school or you won’t be able to play.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do, Alex.” Ashlyn snapped back and all of their teammates looked on, stunned. Ashlyn never spoke to Ali like that.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Ali said quietly and turned away from her girlfriend.

~~ ~~

“Come on. You have to be in detention right now.” Ali said as she came up behind Ashlyn standing at her locker.

“You still mad at me?” Ashlyn asked, turning to her girlfriend but not following her.

Ali sighed. “I’m not mad. I’m just tired of you being so irresponsible. We have to be thinking about our future, Ashlyn. You know the only chance you have to go to college is with a scholarship. You’re a good enough player to get there, but no program is going to want you if you have a record of poor grades and getting in trouble.”

“I know this, Ali.”

“Do you? Because I’m not convinced. I can only help you so much, Ashlyn!” Ali said, getting frustrated with her girlfriend.

“I never asked for your help.” Ashlyn spat back. 

That pushed Ali over the edge. “Fine. Do what you want. Sorry for wanting what was best for you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said before walking away.

“I’ll see you tonight. I coming over for dinner, remember?” Ashlyn called after her.

Ali turned around and shook her head. “No. I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t come over tonight.” 

Ashlyn stood there shocked as she watched her girlfriend walk away before turning and going towards detention. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Hey.” Ali whispered as her girlfriend came into history class and sat beside her.

“Hey.” Ashlyn whispered back. 

“I missed you last night. So did my parents. I’m sorry.”

Ashlyn shook her head. “Don’t apologize. You were right. I’m immature and irresponsible sometimes. I’m sorry for snapping at you yesterday. I know that you do all that you do because you love me.”

Ali smiled and leaned over to kiss the goalkeeper quickly. “I really do love you.”

“I love you too.” Ashlyn grinned and turned her attention towards the teacher as class began to start.

It was about twenty minutes into class when the high school secretary came over the intercom and asked for Ashlyn to come to the principal’s office. 

Whitney and Megan laughed while Ali rolled her eyes.

“What did you do this time?” Megan asked playfully.

Ashlyn playfully shoved her as she stood up to go to the office. “Nothing, you dumb ass.” She then turned to Ali. “I swear. I didn’t do anything. I even went to detention yesterday.”

Ali nodded and smiled. “I believe you. Hurry up and go before you do get in trouble though.”

Ten minutes. Ali wanted impatiently for ten minutes before she got curious as to what her girlfriend was doing in the principal’s office. She asked the teacher if she could go to the bathroom but she went straight towards the office as soon as she exited the classroom. She slowed down as she came towards the office. She could see through the glass windows and saw two police officers in there. She then noticed Ashlyn’s grandmother, who was crying, along with the principal, who looked sympathetic. Ali’s heart stopped when her eyes landed on Ashlyn who had tears streaming down her own face. Ali wanted to bust into the office and ask what was going on but she knew she couldn’t. Instead she ran towards her dad’s office.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!” Ali yelled as she came running down the hall that held all of the coaches’ offices and Ken heard her before she got to his door.

“What’s up, sweetie?” he asked as he stood from his desk.

“Something’s wrong with Ashlyn. She got called to the principal’s office and I left class to check on her because I thought she might be in trouble but I know she’s not in trouble, daddy. I know she’s not. I saw her grandmother and two police officers in there. Ashlyn was crying! She was crying and my Ashlyn doesn’t cry. You know she doesn’t. You have to find out what’s going on! Please, daddy!” Ali rambled out.

Ken brought his daughter into a hug and held her tightly. “Sssshhh, its ok, sweetheart. I’ll go check on her. I promise. You just need to calm down.” He encouraged

Ali shook her head against her dad’s shoulder. “I’m not calming down until I know she’s ok. Can I go with you to check on her?”

“Ok.” Ken nodded, not being able to tell his daughter to go back to class when she was so upset.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I don't claim for any of this to come off as realistic. I get that some of this wouldn't happen in real life.   
> Also, thank you for all of y'all's positive comments! Chapter 3 will be out next week!

Ken led them to the school office and gave his daughter a comforting squeeze as he knocked on the door. The principal’s secretary slightly opened the door and poked her head out. 

“Right now isn’t a great time, Coach Krieger.” She said in a whisper.

“I need to check on my goalkeeper. She’s family and I want to know what’s wrong.” Ken said firmly. 

The secretary sighed and looked to Ali who looked like she was about to cry. Ali and Ashlyn’s relationship was far from a secret, most everyone loved them and thought they were good for each other. The secretary took pity on Ali and nodded as she opened the door allowing them to come in.

As soon as the door was opened, Ali was in front of Ashlyn, pulling her into her embrace without asking any questions. Ashlyn accepted the comfort and buried her face in Ali’s stomach as she stayed in a chair and Ali stood in front of her. Ali held her close and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here.” She whispered and felt Ashlyn pull her in closer.

Ali looked up to her dad, desperate for answers. Everyone else in the room just looked at Ashlyn with sympathy.

“What’s wrong?” Ken asked as he put a comforting hand on Ashlyn’s grandmother’s shoulder.

The officers looked to Ashlyn’s grandmother for conformation that it was ok to tell the coach and she nodded as she wiped at her eyes.

“Christopher Harris and his girlfriend, Grace James were found deceased this morning. It appears that their car ran off the road last night and they were not found until today.”

Ali gasped and clutched Ashlyn tighter, bending down to place a kiss on the top of her head. 

Ali wasn’t around Chris much in her first year at Satellite Beach, but she knew the siblings were close, much like Ali and her brother, Kyle. With her parents having run off, Chris was the only one Ashlyn had left besides their grandmother. Chris had gone off to college in Miami and went wild, but Ashlyn still thought he was the coolest guy ever. Ashlyn had told Ali stories about stupid things Chris had made her do. Ali had even been around to witness it a few times during their freshman year, when Chris was a senior. Ashlyn would usually take the fall for her brother, this included getting in trouble for having cigarettes at school because Chris shoved them in his sister’s backpack. Ali tended to think that Chris wasn’t good for Ashlyn. He seemed to be the definition of screw up….Then Ali remembered…Ashlyn’s nephew.

“Their baby?” she asked in a whisper to the officer.

“Was, fortunately, with a babysitter. Social services should be on their way with him now.”

“They’re bringing him here?” Ken questioned.

The officer nodded. “Mrs. Harris and Ashlyn are the next of kin. We cannot find any family for Ms. James, nor can we locate either of Chris and Ashlyn’s parents.” He explained.

Ken bent down in front of Ashlyn’s grandmother. He and his wife had grown close to the older woman over the past couple of years. They really were all family, Ashlyn and Ali were inseparable which made their families inseparable. “Grandma.” Ken called her affectionately. “We’ll help you. Deb and I are here for you, ok?”

Grandma nodded and patted his cheek before looking over to Ashlyn sadly. Ken followed her gaze and squeezed her hand. “Our life is about to change a lot.” She whispered and looked back to Ken. “I can’t care for a 3 month old by myself. I have to have Ashlyn’s help.”

“She’ll help you. I know she will and so will we. Ashlyn has always stepped up when I needed her to on the field and I know she will now for her nephew.” Ken assured her.

Grandma simply nodded and pulled the coach in for a hug.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ali didn’t want to leave Ashlyn but she knew that she needed to get their stuff from the classroom they had left. She kissed the top of Ashlyn’s head and assured her that she would be right back.

She practically ran back to the classroom and started gathering their stuff together. 

“What’s going on?” their history teacher asked. 

“Emergency.” Is all Ali answered and that caught Whitney and Megan’s attention. 

“What’s wrong?” Whitney asked in concern when she noticed Ali packing up her best friend’s stuff. 

Ali sighed and looked up at Whitney. Ashlyn and Whitney had been best friends since they were in kindergarten. She knew that Whitney was even close to Chris, so she didn’t want to explain anything right now. “Come by Ashlyn’s house this afternoon. Don’t freak out or anything. It’s just not something to talk about here.” Ali loosely explained. 

Whitney agreed but worry was evident on her face. Ali gave her hand a squeeze before grabbing her and Ashlyn’s backpacks and heading back to the office.

“Hey, baby. You ready to go home?” Ali asked.

Ashlyn nodded and stood, helping her grandmother up also. 

“We’ll be back at the Harris house later when the social worker brings the baby.” One of the officers explained to Mr. Krieger as Ali led Ashlyn and Grandma out of the office.

Ken nodded and then looked to the principal. “Do you think we could find a substitute for my P.E. classes? I want to be with Ashlyn.”

The principal nodded. “Of course, don’t worry about it.”

Ken gave his thanks and then turned back to the police officers. “Can I ask you one more question about the accident?”  
.....

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“I found the crib in the attic. Do you think you can come help me with it, Alex?” Ken asked as he came down from the Harris’ attic. Grandma had asked him to find an old baby crib she had up there from when Chris and Ashlyn were little.

“Sure!” Ali said, eager to help in any way she could. Ashlyn wasn’t talking and she couldn’t get her to eat, so Ali felt rather useless.

“No.” Ashlyn said and pulled Ali back to the couch before standing up herself. “I’ll help you, coach.” 

“Ashl-” Ali started but Ken shook his head at her, knowing that his goalkeeper needed to do things on her on time. Ali dropped it and let her girlfriend go help her dad.

Ken and Ashlyn got the crib down from the attic and wiped the dust off of it.

“Let me go ask your grandmother where she wants us to set it up.” Ken said.

“You don’t have to ask her.” Ashlyn said quietly before picking up a side piece of the crib and carrying it off towards her room.

Ken picked up another piece and followed after her. “Are you sure about this?” he asked as he set the piece down in her room.

Ashlyn sighed and sat down on her bed, staring at an empty wall in her room that was now about to be filled. “Coach, you and I both know what this all means. No reason to pretend like we don’t.”

“And what exactly do you think this means?” Ken asked.

“My grandmother is 76 years old. She has had to have two knee replacements. Her memory isn’t what it used to be. You and I both know that this isn’t a case of my grandmother taking in another child like she did when she took in me and Chris. By the time the baby turns 18 my grandmother would be 94, if she's even alive then. Let's face the facts, my brother is dead and now I have a nephew to take care of.”

“Ashlyn, you’re not alone.” Ken assured her as he sat beside her on the bed. “No one is asking you to raise a baby. Your grandmother doesn’t want that for you.”

Ashlyn shook her head. “No one’s asking but it’s what I have to do.”

“No. It’s not. You’re going to go to college on a soccer scholarship, and you’re going to get a good job, and get married…maybe even to my daughter.” He added and nudged her shoulder.

“Please don’t remind me of how this affects soccer and my relationship with Ali. I really can’t think about that right now.” Ashlyn said sadly.

Ken furrowed his brow. “You’re acting like your life is over, Harris, but it’s not.”

“My grandmother can’t do it. You know that, coach! If she can’t do it and Grace doesn’t have any family then who do you think is left to take care of him? For god’s sake, I don’t even know my nephew’s name. I’ve never seen a picture. I looked up to my brother so much growing up but now he’s dead and it’s like I didn’t know him. My brother died and I’m left to clean up his mess. It’s just like he’s still here throwing me under the bus for something he did, but he won’t come back in a few hours with my favorite candy bar and a thank you for taking the punishment for him like he used to.” Ashlyn felt like crying and she did just that when Ken pulled her into his arms. 

“I feel like this must be what guys feel like when they find out they accidently got their girlfriend pregnant.” Ashlyn joked through her tears as she hugged Mr. Krieger back.

Ken chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Well then let’s just be thankful that you can’t get Ali pregnant, sweetheart.” 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Is everything ok in here?” Ali asked as she walked into her girlfriend’s room and noticed her dad and Ashlyn putting the bedding in the crib. Ashlyn and Ken had a very serious conversation after Ashlyn finished crying that started with Ken explaining how the police officers told him that Chris had been intoxicated while driving the car, and ended with Ken promising to help Ashlyn however he could as she took on the task of raising her nephew.

Ashlyn nodded and walked over to give Ali a tight hug. “I love you.” She said sincerely.

“I love you too.” Ali responded and squeezed her tight.

“I’m going to go check on grandma. The social worker and police should be here soon.” Ashlyn said and kissed Ali’s forehead before walking out of her room.  
Ali looked at her quizzically and then turned to her dad. “Is she ok?”

Ken shrugged. “I think she will be. We just need to show her that she has our support, no matter what.”

“Of course she does. Was she questioning that?”

“I don’t think she was, but she has some insecurities. She broke down and had a good cry and then she made it pretty clear to me that she has every intention of taking care of her nephew. And she doesn’t know exactly how you feel about that or how it will effect y’all’s future, but she loves you.”

“Take care of him?” Ali questioned.

Ken nodded. He knew that he needed to put things into perspective for his little girl, life for her girlfriend was about to change drastically. “Grandma Harris is getting older and you’re talking about a 3 month old baby. Ashlyn has accepted the fact that she is the person who will best be able to take care of him.”

“What about school, and soccer, and then college?”

“I’m going to figure something out for her, and you and I both know that Grandma will figure out what’s best for Ashlyn also.”

“Thank you, daddy.” Ali said as she gave her dad a hug. “I know Ashlyn isn’t always the easiest to deal with but you’ve cared about her and taken care of her because I love her and I really appreciate that.”

Ken shook his head. “No, sweetie, I care about her and take care of her because SHE loves YOU, and that’s all I want for you.” He kissed the top of Ali’s head and then they heard the doorbell ring. “You should go be with Ashlyn.” Ken encouraged and Ali ran down the stairs.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ashlyn stared at the baby in Ali’s arms, not quite sure what to think. Grandma had been the first one to hold the little baby, who they were informed was named Easton Christopher Harris. Grandma ended up passing him off to Ali when the social worker pulled out papers that needed to be signed. Grandma and Ken did a lot of talking with the social worker and Ali listened carefully as she also made sure to show attention to the baby in her arms. But Ashlyn…well she watched everything around her like the world was spinning out of control and the only constant was Ali and Easton in very middle of it.

The police officer and the social worker began to pack up their paperwork and say their goodbyes when Ashlyn finally realized she had one more question for them. “Wait, what about me?” she asked.

The social worker looked at her quizzically. “What about you, sweetheart?” she asked. 

“I mean, can he be mine one day…when I’m old enough?” Ashlyn asked nervously and chanced a look at Ali who looked surprised by her question.

“That’s not necessary, Ashlyn. I have custody over him for now. No reason to worry.” Grandma explained.

Ashlyn shook her head. “No. I mean could I have him one day? Like when I finish college and stuff, can I bring him into my life and try to give him a normal home? Can I adopt him as mine?”

The social worker nodded in understanding. “Your grandmother could legally give you custody over him when you’re older, but that’s between you and your grandmother.”

Ashlyn nodded and turned back to look at her nephew without another word. Ken and Grandma walked their visitors out to the car and left Ali and Ashlyn inside.

“Do you want to hold him?” Ali asked as she shifted the baby in her arms.

Ashlyn shook her head furiously and backed away a little.

Ali giggled and just pulled the baby up to her chest. “Well, then make yourself useful and look through the bags of his stuff they brought from Chris’ apartment and find some formula. He’s probably hungry.”

Ashlyn ran off to her room to look through the bags and Grandma and Ken came back into the house, this time followed by Whitney. 

“Hey.” Whitney said softly as she walked up to Ali and looked at Easton. “Grandma explained everything to me outside. Where’s Ashlyn?”

“Upstairs.” Ali said and motioned with her head towards the stairs. “You should go talk to her, but tell her to bring down the formula first.”

“Sure thing. Is she doing ok?”

Ali shrugged. “She hasn’t really talked to me. Maybe seeing you will help.”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

“Here, Ali, take Easton while I help grandma with the dishes.” Deb said as she passed the baby off to her daughter. Deb had come over as soon as she could, bringing pizza for everyone. She immediately jumped into ‘mom mode’ and began helping out with Easton. The Krieger family really did just want to show Ashlyn and her grandmother that they had people to help them. Grandma, Ken, and Deb left the dining room and left the young couple with the baby.

Ali held the baby a second before looking back to Ashlyn and smiled. “He kind of looks like you.” Ali said with a grin.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and moved closer to her girlfriend, wrapping her arm protectively around both of them. She was feeling better after talking to Whitney, but she still hadn’t held the baby. “I don’t think he looks that much like me.”

“He does!” Ali insisted. “Look at his tiny little chin and his eye color is the same. He doesn’t have much hair but he does have little puffs of blonde coming through. He looks like his Aunt Ashlyn.” She gushed.

Ashlyn chuckled and kissed the side of Ali’s head. “You’re sweet but he’s too cute to look like me. Aren’t you, little guy?” Ashlyn asked as she reached out to tickle his little feet which made him smile showing an adorable dimple. 

“Oh my god! Babe, he has a baby dimple when he smiles.” Ali’s heart about melted at the sight and the fact that this was the first interaction Ashlyn had had with Easton since he had gotten there.

“That’s cute.” Ashlyn agreed and sat back in her chair again and pulled Ali close. 

Ali sighed and leaned her head against Ashlyn’s shoulder. “We could do this, ya know.” Ali whispered out as she looked down to the baby in her arms.

“Do what?” Ashlyn asked with confusion.

“My dad said you have every intention of raising him and you made that pretty clear with the social worker also. I just wanted you to know that I agree that we can do it.”

Ashlyn shook her head and pulled back slightly. “No. Not we. You have to think about your future and college, Alex.”

“You are my future, Ashlyn.”

“We’re juniors in high school. We can’t be making life decisions like this together at 17 years old. Don’t worry about this, Ali. Just think about college and soccer.”

“You’re making a life decision. Why can’t I? Why can’t I chose to do this with you? We love each other.” Ali argued back.

“Because I didn’t get to make this decision, Ali! There was no ‘decision’ for me, but there is for you and I’m not letting you do this! Yesterday you told me I was irresponsible, and you were right. But this is me being responsible. I’m not letting you put this kind of pressure on yourself, it’s not your responsibility!” Ashlyn said loudly and stood up from her chair.

“You’re not letting me? So what’s your solution, Ashlyn? Saying you don’t want me to choose to do this is saying that you don’t want me to choose you.”

“Then maybe we should break up!” Ashlyn yelled back and Ali’s heart sank as she heard the words. She wanted to respond. She wanted to follow Ashlyn out of the dining room as she stormed out but a crying baby in her arms stopped her.

~~ ~~ ~~

The adults had heard the argument between the young couple. Everyone knew the argument was coming because they knew how Ashlyn would feel about this. But none of them imagined Ashlyn would win the argument by breaking up with Ali. Ali always won their fights, and Ken and Deb had accepted that their daughter would win this fight and they would all adjust to the new roles they would play in Easton’s life.

“I should go check on her.” Deb said as she heard a combination of Easton’s tears with Ali’s sobs.

Grandma and Ken nodded and Deb joined her daughter in the dining room.

“Ali, honey, are you ok?” Deb asked.

Ali shook her head ‘no’ and tried to calm Easton down but she couldn’t push through her own tears to do so. Deb reached out and took the baby from her daughter and rocked him softly to calm him. 

“Maybe it’s time for us to go home. You and Ashlyn can talk tomorrow when you’ve both had time to think.” Deb suggested.

Ali shook her head again. “Ashlyn left. I heard the front door slam. I can’t just leave Easton here.”

Deb sighed. “Grandma can take care of him, sweetie. You and Ashlyn don’t have to make these life altering decisions right now. These are things for the two of you to discuss if you’re still together when you finish college and grandma is a little older and can’t take care of him anymore.”

“I’m not leaving here until I’ve talked to my girlfriend, and I’m definitely not leaving grandma here by herself with Easton. It’s just like that irresponsible child that I call my girlfriend to leave when her grandmother needs her the most.”

“Ali-” Deb tried again.

“I’m not leaving, mom.” the defender said sternly as she dried her tears and reached out to take the baby back from her mother.


	3. Chapter 3

Ali woke up around midnight in Ashlyn’s bed when she felt the other side dip from the blonde's weight. She slowly turned to find Ashlyn sitting against the head of the bed with a sleeping Easton in her arms. 

“You’re back” Ali said softly, almost wanting to cry at the sight of Ashlyn finally holding her nephew for the first time.

“And you’re still here.” Ashlyn whispered back as she continued to look down at the sleeping baby.

“Of course I’m still here.”

“I was afraid you were going to take my break-up comment seriously and leave.” Ashlyn admitted sadly.

“Never. I love you, remember?”

Silence came over them for a moment until Ali spoke again. “My mom made a point to me after you left, we don’t have to make any decisions right now. I understand that in the future we will need to make sure he is taken care of but that isn’t stopping us from going to college. Your grandmother is capable of taking care of him for right now.” 

“And what kind of life is that for him?” Ashlyn challenged. “He has one older woman take care of him when he’s little but then he has two different women take him when he’s older? We just thrust him into a life with us and the family we want to have when it’s convenient for us?”

“We’re seventeen, Ashlyn. I think the most important thing we can do right now is be there for Easton and help your grandma.”

“I can’t ask my grandmother to raise another child that isn’t hers.” Ashlyn said quietly and Ali watched as a tear slip down her face and fell onto Easton’s onesie. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean she already had to raise me and Chris when my parents abandoned us. She shouldn’t have to start the process all over again because of my stupid brother.”

“Stupid brother? Ashlyn, it was accident.” 

“Chris was drunk, Ali! He was intoxicated. He ran off the road and left his son without any parents!”

“Ash, calm down. You don’t want to wake Easton up. How do you even know this?” 

“Your dad told me.” Ashlyn cried out, trying to calm down for the baby in her arms.

“My dad? How did he know?” 

Ashlyn hung her head. “The police officer told him at the school. The officer didn’t want to mention it in front of me and your dad wanted to explain it to me privately.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Ali said and reached out her hand to Ashlyn’s knee.

“I can’t leave my grandmother to clean up another one of my family member’s mistakes, Alex. I can’t do it.”

Ali nodded and moved closer to pull Ashlyn and Easton into her embrace. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Ashlyn cried and held her nephew tightly as she melted into her girlfriend’s embrace.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ashlyn woke up the next morning to the sound of a crying baby, but when she looked to the crib she noticed it was empty. 

The cries seemed to be getting softer and she got out of bed and walked out into the hall to see Ali holding Easton up to her chest and rocking him gently.

“Is everything alright?” the blonde asked.

Ali looked up startled. “Yea, I was trying to make sure he didn’t wake you. Guess I didn’t do such a great job.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “You should have woken me up. He’s my responsibility.”

Ali shook her head. “Our responsibility. And DON’T argue with me about it.”

The goalkeeper smiled sheepishly and walked up to her girlfriend and nephew and pulled them into a hug from behind. “I love you.”

Ali smiled and turned her head to give Ashlyn a quick peck on the lips. “I love you too.”

Ashlyn just held them for a minute and watched as Ali soothed the baby in her arms. “How are you so good at that?” she marveled.

“Lots of babysitting and working in the church nursery.” 

Ashlyn rolled her eyes at that. “Oh yes, how could I forget? You’re the perfect little Ali who goes to church, helps in the nursery, plays soccer and gets straight ‘As’….Oh shit. School! We’re missing school, Ali! What time is it?” Ashlyn rushed into her room to grab her phone. “Fuck, Als, it’s already 8:30.”

Ali giggled and walked back into the bedroom with Easton. “Its fine, Ash. I didn’t figure we would be going anyway. It’s just Friday. I think we could use a day off, we’ll go back on Monday.”

“What about soccer practice?”

Ali laughed and leaned up to kiss Ashlyn’s cheek. “I think my dad will understand, baby. You need to help your grandmother today. She has to make funeral arrangements. Let me worry about Easton and you worry about your grandma.”

Ashlyn sighed and leaned in to her girl. “You sure?”

Ali nodded and passed the baby off to Ashlyn’s arms. “Just watch him while I take a shower really quick.”

“Ok.” Ashlyn agreed and smiled as her girlfriend made herself at home when she reached into Ashlyn’s drawers to grab some clothes and then going off to the bathroom.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Good morning, sweetheart. Did y’all have a good night?” Grandma asked as she saw Ashlyn walk into the kitchen holding Easton.

“I think we did. Ali woke up with him most of the time. I didn’t really hear him.”

Grandma nodded and pulled some biscuits out of the oven. “You do know that I could have him in my room at night. There’s no reason for the two of you to worry about this.”

Ashlyn shook her head. “No, grandma, this is all good practice. I meant what I said when the social worker was here yesterday, when I’m old enough I plan on him being mine.”

“But you don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. He’s my nephew, grandma. It makes more sense for me to have him then his great grandmother. No offense, but I think I’ll be able to offer him more in the long run as far as having a real family.”

Grandma smiled and moved to give her granddaughter a hug. “I’m glad you want to do that for him, but just remember that I’m here. That I want to help with my great grandson. You don’t have to grow up so fast.”

Ashlyn smiled and gave grandma a kiss on the cheek. “I know, grandma.”

Ali walked into the kitchen a few seconds later and stopped as she saw grandma and her girlfriend in an embrace. The two women noticed her walk in and pulled apart. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Ashlyn shook her head and walked towards her girlfriend and held Easton out to her. “You didn’t.”

Ali happily took Easton into her arms and cooed down at him. “I should feed him and then I’ll take him over to my house so you guys can have some alone time to make arrangements and stuff.”

“You don’t have to leave, and you certainly don’t have to watch him, Ali. If you want to go home and rest then Ashlyn and I will be fine with him.” Grandma insisted. She felt bad that the young woman felt like she had to help.

“Don’t worry, grandma. We’re kind of attached now, I would hate to leave him.” Ali said as she kissed Easton’s cheek and watched him as he moved his little hands to grab at her necklace.

Ashlyn smiled widely at the two and grandma watched the love that radiated off the young couple and grinned. 

~~ ~~ Sunday ~~ ~~

Ali and Ashlyn stood with their friends in the church after the funeral. They were all making sure that their goalkeeper was ok. They knew it couldn’t be easy to lose a brother and gain a baby.

“Are you coming back to school tomorrow?” Megan asked.

Ali nodded answering for the both of them. She was holding her girlfriend’s hand tightly, offering as much support as she could. 

“Well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. We love you, kid.” Abby said and slapped Ashlyn on the back.   
“Actually, do you think we can all go out tonight? Maybe meet at our spot on the beach?” Ashlyn asked quietly. 

Ali’s eyes shot to her girlfriend. “What about Easton?” 

Ashlyn shrugged and glanced over to the baby that was being held by Ali’s mom. “He’ll be asleep by the time we leave. Grandma can take care of him. She’s going to have to when we go back to school tomorrow anyway.” 

“Ok,” Ali sighed and turned back to their teammates. “I’ll ask my brother to get us some beer before he leaves to go back to school.” She offered, caving into what her girlfriend wanted, knowing she needed to be with friends.

“Sounds good. See you then.” Abby agreed and the girls all walked off as Ashlyn and Ali continued to stand there. 

“Are you ok?” Ali asked in a whisper.

Ashlyn nodded her head and pulled Ali in close to her side as she watched Kyle walk up.

“Hey. I was going to head out soon. I plan on being back for your first game this season though.” He told them. 

“Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it.” Ashlyn said and held her hand out to her girlfriend’s brother.

Kyle pushed away her hand and pulled her into a hug. “I wanted to. Chris was a real son of a bitch sometimes in high school, but we had a few things in common…like how much we both loved you two and wanted you two to be happy.”

Ashlyn let out a small smile and gave a squeeze to Ali. She could never forget how Chris stood up to some real dicks in the cafeteria one day when they started harassing Kyle about being gay. It was shortly after Ali and Ashlyn started dating and they had only come out to their families, so Chris was super sensitive to people making fun of people for being gay. While giving it to douches, he also accidently “out-ed” Ashlyn and Ali when one of the bullies asked Chris why he even cared about ‘some gay fag’ and Chris promptly answered in defense of his sister and Ali. 

“Hey, Kyle, before you go do you think you could get us some beer and leave it in the trunk of my car. Ashlyn wanted to get the girls together at the beach tonight.” Ali asked.

“Of course. Anything for my little sisters. I’ll see you guys soon. Love you.” He said before giving Ali a big hug and a kiss to the forehead and then playfully kissing Ashlyn’s cheek before walking off.

Ali shook her head in amusement as her brother walked off and then turned to Ashlyn. “Ready to get our little guy and head back to your grandma’s?” 

Ashlyn shrugged and then sat down in a pew behind them. The church was mostly empty, grandma and Mr. and Mrs. Krieger were in the back talking to the preacher. 

“Hey, I know this must be hard. Tell me what I can do to help and I will.” Ali encouraged and sat beside her.

Ashlyn grinned and looked down to her feet. “I know, baby, you’re kind of incredible like that.”

Ali blushed and Ashlyn smiled as she brushed her shoes against the carpet on the floors. “I love you. I’m a mess, I’m immature, and I’m irresponsible. But the best thing I’ve ever done in my life is fallen in love with you. I think every person who knew me before you moved here would agree with me also.”

Ali giggled and leaned her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “I love you too, but where is this coming from?”

“Did you see who came to the funeral? Did you see that none of the teachers from our high school came? Did you notice that only a few of my brother’s football teammates came? Did you notice that the preacher could only talk about the funny things my brother did because he probably couldn’t remember many good things he did? Kyle was right, Chris was a real son of a bitch and I hope that I’m not like that. I hope that if I died three years from now that the teachers from our high school would be sorry to see a promising life gone. I hope that if I die fifty years from now that Easton has pride in what I accomplished. I hope that I’m better than my brother, Alex. Not for my sake, but for yours’ and Easton’s.”

“You already are, Baby.” 

Ashlyn shook her head. “Then why do I feel like I’m drowning? Like I’m in over my head?”

“Because you are in over your head.”

Ashlyn cut her eyes at her. “Not helping.”

Ali giggled. “But so am I. I’m in over my head too! One day I was a normal teenager who played soccer and had a really hot girlfriend, and now I’m that same normal teenager except me and my really hot girlfriend have a baby, and that’s crazy!” Ashlyn laughed and Ali continued, trying to make a point. “But I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t ask you to give up taking care of Easton so you could be with me. I wouldn’t say that we can’t do this because it will interfere with college. And do you know why? Because we are in over our heads together and as long as we don’t pull each other down then I have faith that we’ll swim to the top.”

Ashlyn looked at her girlfriend in awe for a moment before a smirk came across her face. “You think I’m hot?”

Ali rolled her eyes and shoved the goalkeeper with her shoulder. “Of course I do. Did you think your personality was what won me over?”

“Shut up.” Ashlyn teased and stood up from the pew and held her hand out to pull Ali up also. “I really do love you, ya know?” 

“I know.” Ali whispered and leaned up to place a loving kiss to Ashlyn’s lips.

Ashlyn pulled away from the kiss laughing.

“What?” Ali asked in confusion.

“Isn’t this a sin or something? A lesbian couple kissing in a church.” Ashlyn joked.

Ali rolled her eyes and shoved her girlfriend as she walked over to grab Easton from her mom.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Are you sure that you’ll be ok, grandma?” Ali asked as she came down the stairs from putting Easton to bed. She handed grandma the baby monitor and then began to put a light jacket on.

“I’m sure, sweetie. I’ve done this a time or two.” The older woman winked at her.

Ali grinned and then turned towards the stairs waiting for Ashlyn to come down. 

“Don’t tell me you managed to finish getting ready to go out before my granddaughter?” grandma joked in disbelief. 

Ali giggled. “Well, in her defense, she feed Easton his bottle while I got dressed and she was getting dressed while I rocked him to sleep but he fell asleep really fast. He had a long day.”

About that moment Ali and grandma could hear some shuffling of feet coming from the baby monitor and then they heard Ashlyn’s whispered voice. “Goodnight, buddy. Be good for grandma. Ali and I will be back later. I love you.” 

Ali’s heart melted at her girlfriend’s goodbye and she looked to the stairs to see her girlfriend coming down. Ashlyn noticed the sappy look on Ali’s face and quirked her eyebrow at it. “What?”

Ali just crushed the blonde into a hug and held her close. “You’re just too cute. I love you.” She gushed and kissed Ashlyn’s cheek.

Grandma chuckled at the confused look on her granddaughter’s face. “You two go have fun. Just remember you have school tomorrow so don’t come back to late.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ashlyn called as she grabbed the defender’s hand and led her out the door. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Yes! The married couple is finally here!” Pinoe exclaimed as she saw Ali and Ashlyn walking up to their spot on the beach carrying the beers. 

“Hey, don’t tease the people bringing the beer.” Abby laughed and shoved Megan into the sand. 

“Joke all you want, but I think it would be an honor to be married to this woman one day.” Ashlyn cheesed as she set the beers down and pulled Ali in close for a passionate kiss just to irritate her friends. 

Ali had a goofy smile on her face as the pulled away and was slightly blushing. “Thank you, baby.” She whispered and kissed Ashlyn on the cheek, right below her ear, but she also tugged gently on the blonde’s earlobe with her teeth before pulling away.   
Ashlyn groaned and reached her hand down to rest it on Ali’s ass.

“EWWWW, gross!” Alex said as she covered her eyes

“Seriously, guys? Y’all are disgusting.” Whitney whined and reached out to grab a can of beer. 

Ashlyn and Ali just pulled away from each other and laughed. “Ain’t nothing wrong with showing my woman how much I love her.” Ashlyn pouted and sat on the sand by her best friend and then pulled Ali down on her lap. 

“I’m just worried about you scaring Easton for life. There is no way that you two can share a bed every night and not have sex.” Megan jumped in.

Ashlyn hummed in thought and then turned to her girlfriend. “She’s right. It’s bound to happen sometime.” 

“We are not having sex with a baby in the room.” Ali said sternly. “You’ll have to wait until we’re comfortable with moving him from your room to the guest room. I would prefer to be able to keep an eye on him right now though. We don’t know his sleeping patterns yet.”

“Ugggh, y’all sound like such adults. Lighten up, have some fun” Alex whined.

Ashlyn held Ali a little tighter, indicating she was getting upset. “We do have fun. This past week has just been stressful. I did lose my brother and gain a baby. Did you all forget that?” the blonde snapped.

The group got quiet and Ali stiffened in Ashlyn’s arms. “Baby?” Ali whispered and turned around to her. “Are you ok?” 

“I’m fine. I just wish everyone would realize that this is the new normal.” Ashlyn said pointedly as she looked around the group.

All of their friends hung their heads and Ashlyn couldn’t take the pity they felt towards her. She moved Ali off her lap and then grabbed another beer before standing up and walking down the beach leaving them all behind. 

The girls all watched as she walked off and Ali slowly began to stand up. “I should go talk to her.” Ali whispered out.

Abby shook her head. “I’m her captain. Let me go.” 

“But I’m her girlfriend.” Ali argued. 

“And I think the two of you have a lot going on, and maybe she needs to talk to someone who isn’t her girlfriend.”

Ali wanted to continue her argument but she knew Abby was probably right. “Ok.” Ali nodded and Abby left the group to go run after the goal keeper. 

“Hey, wait up!” Abby called after the younger girl as she caught up with her. 

“I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“We realize that you’re stressed and that things have changed. We’re just trying to act normal. How else would you like us to act?” the forward tried to reason with her.

“I don’t know!” the blonde yelled at her. “I don’t know anything anymore! Last week I was going to go college on a soccer scholarship, and maybe convince Ali to marry me one day. But what am I doing now? What do I do now?” Ashlyn asked her in defeat. 

“Go to college on a soccer scholarship and ask Ali to marry you.” Abby stated simply.

“Fuck off. You aren’t helping.” Ashlyn was tired of people insinuating that things could be normal.

Abby grabbed Ashlyn’s shoulder and stopped her so they could look at each other. “No, I’m serious. Marry her. Marry her and then find a college that will take both of you and understands that you have a kid. It might not be a division I college but maybe division II.”

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” Ashlyn asked in disbelief. 

“You want people to realize that your new normal is different than the old normal? Then show everyone. Show everyone that you’re growing up. Believe me, you’re a junior this year, college coaches will start really talking to you and Ali this year. If you seriously want to be together than show them that you can’t be separated. Show us and everyone else that THIS IS IT. I know this is a lot to take in after just four days but decision making time is now. I know because I just got finished making these decisions myself. Remember the girl I’ve been dating since last summer when we met at camp that was from Connecticut?”  
“Sarah?”

“Yeah, well she’s going to Virginia and I’m going to Florida. It sucks but we don’t have anything tying us together. You and Ali do. First, you two love each other. Second, you two both love Easton. I can see it in your faces already and you’ve barely had him four days. Use the things tying you together to stay together.”

“I can’t ask Ali to tie herself to me and Easton.” Ashlyn spat at her friend’s stupidity. 

Abby rolled her eyes. “You’re not asking her too. She’s already tied to you. She’s already in love with you. And you can’t mistake how she looks at Easton with nothing but love and admiration.”

“We’re 17 years old.”

“And you have the rest of your life to make mistakes and learn from them. Stop making excuses and start taking chances.” Abby told her pointedly. 

“Do you really think we could find a college that would consider both of us?” Ashlyn asked as she hung her head and dug her toes into the wet sand beneath her.

Abby smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I think it’s possible. I’ll help you. My new goal as your captain is to find a college that needs both a goalkeeper and a defender, and I’m going to tell them how fantastic you and Kriegs are.”

Ashlyn chuckled and pulled her friend into a hug. “You might need to ask them if they need a baby mascot also.”

Abby laughed and patted Ashlyn’s back as she pulled away from the hug. “Who would not want an adorable baby like Easton as their mascot?”  
Both girls laughed and headed back to their friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I'm not accurate on the college recruiting process. I work for a college sports team. I know how recruiting works. I'm just making up a story that will work. I know it's not realistic. 
> 
> Also, I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Let me know what y'all are thinking! I really enjoy writing this! Update will be next week, as usual!

~~ ~~ Three Weeks Later ~~ ~~

They had found a system that worked for them, a rough system, but a system. Ali’s parents supported their daughter wanting to help care for Easton but they still wanted her at home with them. This resulted in them buying a crib and setting it up in their guest bedroom that was just down the hall from Ali’s room. Ali stayed at Ashlyn’s house to help with Easton on Tuesdays and Thursday, but Ashlyn and Easton stayed at the Krieger house on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This only left Ashlyn alone with Easton Mondays and Wednesdays. Of course, she wasn’t alone, she had her grandmother, who kept Easton everyday while Ashlyn was at school and soccer. But because Grandma had to keep him during the day, Ashlyn felt it was necessary for him to be her responsibility when she wasn’t busy. 

When they had away games that required for them to be gone, Deb and Grandma would take turns keeping him. Occasionally, Deb would bring Easton to some of the closer away games and she would definitely bring him to all of the home games along with Grandma sometimes. It took Deb and Ken a little time to adjust, but they figured that they might as well accept the fact that Easton was probably going to be their first grandchild one day, hopefully in the future. Everything Ali and Ashlyn said and did lately pointed to them having a future together and that future included Easton.

Deb was currently waiting in the stands after the girl’s game, holding Easton, when she saw a man wearing a UNC shirt walk towards Ashlyn on the field. Deb had already witnessed both girls politely put off offers from other schools, never turning them down but always saying they needed to think about it. Penn State was really interested in Ali but they were not in need of a goal keeper. Tennessee had tried hard to persuade Ashlyn, but they had already signed two defenders and were looking at a third, they didn’t need Ali. As juniors, the girls still had until next year when colleges would be signing their class. It gave them hope that in the next year, surely, they could find someone willing to take them both.

Deb and Ken had argued with Ali on this point many times, always making sure that Ashlyn wasn’t around when they brought it up. They didn’t want their daughter to throw out every opportunity just waiting for the college that wanted both of them. They wanted their daughter to think rationally, but the only rational thought she had in her head was that she couldn’t leave Ashlyn and Easton. The three of them were going to be together. Deb shook her head as the recruiter reached Ashlyn, she figured it was just one more disappointment for the girls to have to go through for the sake of the child that Deb held her arms. 

“Ashlyn Harris?” the man questioned as he looked down to Ashlyn as she stretched out after the game.

“Yes, sir?” Ashlyn said as she stood and wiped the grass off of her. 

“I’m Matt Homer, a recruiter for the University of North Carolina. You played a great game tonight. Congrats on the shut-out.”

“Oh, thank you!” Ashlyn said excitedly as she stuck her hand out to shake his. 

The recruiter and Ashlyn continued to talk for a while as Ali came up to her mom and Easton. “Hey guys!” Ali said excitedly as she smiled at them and gave Easton a quick kiss on the cheek. 

Easton reached out to be held by Ali, but Ali stepped away from his grasp and pouted at him. “I can’t hold you right now, baby, I’m all sweaty and gross. I’ll make sure to give you lots of cuddles when we get home.” Ali promised as she played with one of his little feet, she then looked up to her mom. “Do you think dad could hold him for a minute? The booster club is holding a quick meeting and they were looking for you.”

“Sure. I’ll go pass him off and then head over there. Go get cleaned up!” Deb said and patted her daughter’s butt as the defender ran off to the locker room. 

~~

Ken had just finished talking to a dad of one of the girls while holding Easton when he saw Matt walking towards him. 

“Matt Homer, it’s good to see you again.” Ken greeted the younger man and held out his free hand to the recruiter. He knew the recruiter well, he had looked at several of the girls Ken has coached over the years.

“Good to see you also, coach. Who’s this little guy?” Matt asked as he pointed to Easton in Ken’s arms.

“This is…umm” Ken looked down at the baby boy who had become a part of their family over the past month and was at a loss for a proper description. “He’s my grandson, Easton.” Ken explained. It was easier to explain it that way then to go into detail.

“Well, he’s a handsome little thing. I didn’t think you were old enough to have grandkids.”

Both men chuckled. “Neither did I.” Ken jokingly mumbled.

“Well, I just got finished having a conversation with one of your girls. I was hoping to be able to speak to you about her.” 

Ken nodded and then looked around the field. He spotted Ashlyn walking slowly towards the locker room with Megan and called after her.

Ashlyn came jogging up and grinned as Easton smiled at her. “What’s up, coach?”

“Do you think you can take him while I talk to Mr. Homer for a minute?” He asked as he shifted Easton in his arms.

“Of course.” Ashlyn agreed as she held her hands out for him. “I’m always willing to take my little man, although your daughter won’t be happy that I’m holding him while I’m sweaty.”

Ken chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

Ashlyn laughed and walked off with Easton, covering his little face in kisses as he giggled up at her.

Ken shook his head in amusement as he watched them walk off and then he turned back to Matt. “So that’s your daughter’s son? I didn’t know you had another daughter besides Ali.” Matt inquired. 

“Actually, he is Ali’s…And Ashlyn’s.” Ken explained as he nodded after the blonde.

Matt almost choked on air at that information. “Ummm” he began looking through the files he had in his hands. “I don’t have anything on either one of their medical histories that indicated they were once pregnant.” Matt blushed in embarrassment. 

Ken laughed. “That’s because he is Ashlyn’s biological nephew.”

“Oh ok. So I’m assuming your daughter and Ashlyn are in a relationship?”

Ken nodded slowly, skeptical about where the recruiter was taking this point of conversation. Being the father of two gay children, Ken didn’t take kindly to people judging them. 

Matt struggled to find his thought process again. “Well, Ashlyn didn’t mention this when I was talking to her earlier.”

“Probably because she is only interested in colleges that are interested in her and Ali.” Ken explained. “I’m guessing Ashlyn was the player you wanted to talk to me about?”

Matt nodded. “UNC is very interested in her. She asked plenty of questions when I was talking to her. Although this does explain why she asked if we had any kind of marriage policy.”

“And do you?” Ken asked. 

“Uhmm, No, the girls can be married just like our male athletes are allowed to be married. However, I would have to discuss with the coaches and administration about our policy on teammates being married. I don’t think we’ve ever had that problem.”

“Teammates?”

“I came here with two files, Coach.” Matt tried to explain. 

“Look, I don’t want you talking to my daughter just because you want Ashlyn. That’s not right and it’s not in code with NCAA rules. My daughter deserves to get offers on her on merit.” Ken said.

Matt shook his head in panic. “Wait, that’s not what I’m implying, Coach Krieger. There is a reason I have two files in my hand tonight. Ashlyn just happened to be the one I spoke to tonight. We are very interested in your daughter also, I took very detailed notes that I would like to talk to Coach Dorrance about before talking anything substantial with Ali. We were also unaware of their relationship. Obviously, them having a child puts things into a different light. Are they married or engaged?”

“No, but I think it’s a part of their plan.” Ken said, he was no longer going to deny that his little girl and Ashlyn were in this for the long haul.

Matt nodded. “Well, I’ll be in touch. Thank your for your time, Coach.”

“No problem.” Ken said as he shook the younger man’s hand. “And can I just say, as a coach not as a father, that those two girls are focused. Easton is their number one priority but they don’t let that interfere with them on the field. You saw it tonight. You and I both know that they are talented soccer players, whether they have a child or not.”

“I agree. I’ll see you soon.” Matt assured as he walked off. 

~~ 

“Ashlyn! Why isn’t he with my dad?” Ali said in panic as she saw her sweaty girlfriend walk into the locker room holding Easton. 

Ashlyn shrugged. “He was talking to a recruiter.”

Ali rolled her eyes and took the baby boy from his aunt’s arms. “I’ve already taken a shower. Go get cleaned up real quick so we can go. We’ll be waiting for you at the jeep.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Ashlyn saluted and then ran over to her locker to get her shower stuff. 

Ali shook her head at her girlfriend and then slung her bag over her shoulder while carefully holding Easton and exiting the locker room. 

She made it to Ashlyn’s jeep and had Easton buckled in when she heard her name being called. She turned around skeptically and saw a man walking towards her. “Ali Krieger, right?” he asked as he approached. 

Ali nodded and instinctively moved in front of Easton to hide him from the man’s line of view. 

“Who are you?” she asked in a near whisper, wishing she had waited on Ashlyn before coming to the car.

The man smiled, “Oh, I’m sorry. I probably look like a creep. I’m Matt Homer, recruiter from the University of North Carolina. I just got finished talking to your dad and girlfriend.”

Ali gave him a small smile but still wasn’t completely comfortable until she could see Ashlyn walking towards them. “It’s nice to meet you. Speaking of my girlfriend, she’s coming now.”

Matt turned around and gave Ashlyn a small wave and waited for the blonde to approach. “I’m glad I was able to catch both of you.” He greeted.

Ashlyn threw her bag in the trunk and then came and put an arm around Ali’s waist and shook the recruiter’s hand. “I’m surprised you’re still here.” She said.

“Well, I have to admit, after talking to Coach Krieger and finding out that the two of you want to stay together on the college level, I was a little skeptical. But you are both fantastic players. I just wanted to know if you both would seriously consider an offer from UNC if you had a choice. Bringing in a couple that has a child will be challenging to sell to the coach. I want to know that you two would definitely consider UNC before I go back up to Chapel Hill and fight for you.” 

Ali and Ashlyn’s jaws both dropped and before they could get a word out Easton started crying from the back seat of the jeep. “Uhmmm, hold that thought!” Ali said quickly as she moved into the jeep to pick the baby up. She passed him off to Ashlyn and then reached back into the car to his diaper bag to get his pacifier. 

Ashlyn laughed at the circumstances as she bounced the boy on her shoulder to calm him down. “You’re sure you want this at UNC’s program?” she asked with a chuckle.

Matt grinned at the trio and nodded. “This shows me that I’m recruiting two exceptional athletes, with exceptional maturity and sense of responsibility. I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. So are we a go?” 

Ali and Ashlyn looked at each other and smiled. “I think so.” Ali said as she turned back to him and nodded. 

“Awesome. I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll try my best. I’m on your side.” 

“Thank you.” Ashlyn said sincerely.

They said their goodbyes and parted ways. 

“Well that was interesting.” Ali said as she took a now calm Easton from Ashlyn’s arms and put him back in his carseat

“Interesting? It’s perfect! Alex, we could be at the best women’s collegiate soccer program in the U.S. and, most importantly, be together. This is great!” 

Ali giggled and turned around to wrap Ashlyn in a hug. “It would be great, but let’s not get our hopes up. What are the real odds of a coach agreeing to have a couple on their team? Especially at a program like UNC?”

Ashlyn sighed sadly and pulled Ali in closer as she placed a kiss on her forehead. “Are you sure you’re ok with all of this? I know Penn State was your dream school and that it sucked to have to talk to the recruiter from there and know that it wasn’t really an option.”

Ali took a deep breath and looked up to meet Ashlyn’s eyes. “Ashlyn Michelle Harris, I love you. I don’t care how many times people point out that we’re only 17. I am going to go to college with you, and I’m going to marry you, and we are going to raise Easton as our son, and I’m going to have lots of babies with you. End of story. You and Easton are my endgame.” She then pulled her girlfriend in for a deep kiss, spilling all of her love into the kiss.

Ashlyn parted from her for a quick second but kept Ali close. “Easton is our son?” she mumbled against the defender’s lips. 

Ali giggled and pecked Ashlyn’s lips quickly before pulling back. “Just call me ‘mommy’.” She said with a wink and went around to the passenger side of the jeep to get in. 

Ashlyn stood there dumbfounded for a second before she also got in the jeep. “Are you being serious right now?” she asked, not starting the jeep until they’ve talked. 

“I’m being serious.” Ali assured her. “Let’s talk to your grandma and my parents about it before we start calling him our son, but he is. Ya know? Like, we love him and we take care of him. Why can’t we just make things simpler and start calling him ours?”

“I love you.” Ashlyn said with a huge grin on her face and leaned over to kiss Ali quickly before starting the vehicle. “We’ll talk to everyone this weekend…mommy.”

Ali smiled widely and reached over to grab Ashlyn’s hand that wasn’t holding the steering wheel. “Sure thing, mama.”

“Mama?” Ashlyn quirked her eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I figured that’s what he could call you. Do you not like it?”

Ashlyn shrugged. “It’s alright. I just never thought about it. But I like how you say it.” She said with a wink and then turned her attention to the road.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember this is all fiction. Some of this could be realistic, some of it might not be.

“Well, I’ll be honest and say I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Deb said pointedly.

It was then next Saturday afternoon, grandma had come over to the Krieger’s house so they could all have a family lunch. Ashlyn was sitting on the floor playing with Easton when Ali and Deb came and joined everyone after cleaning the dishes from lunch. Ali sat down next to Ashlyn on the floor and Ali made the mistake of calling Ashlyn ‘mama’ when she was talking and playing with Easton. This led to Ali and Ashlyn explaining to the three adults in the room that they want Easton to know them as his moms.

“Why not?” Ali challenged with a set face. She wasn’t really asking permission. 

“Because I think it would be better to wait and, in the future, when you’re still together then go into the parenting roles.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Ali argued back. “You said “WHEN” we are still together, not “IF” we are still together. Everyone in this room knows that Ashlyn and I are soulmates.”

“Alex-” Ashlyn whispered softly, trying to get her girlfriend to calm down. They didn’t need to cause problems with their families. 

“No, Ashlyn.” Ali snapped at her. “I’m tired of people questioning my decisions. I’m tired of my parents questioning me, the guidance counselor questioning me, and, most importantly, YOU questioning me. I get that you are trying to look after me, but if I say that I’m sure about something then just take me at my word.” She then turned to her parents, clearly on a roll, “Easton is OUR son. Period. I know in my heart that this is how mine and Ashlyn’s story is supposed to go. This might be hard for you to hear, but as much as I love you two and Kyle, there are two people in this world that I love more and that’s Ashlyn and Easton.”

Deb looked like she was ready to argue back but Ken put a hand on her knee and spoke. “Ali, you have always been my little girl and you always will be. I hate to see you grow up, but I love seeing the woman you are becoming. I’m so proud of you, Alex. And, Ashlyn, I’m proud of you also. You both are already incredible moms to Easton, which is why I support your decision to treat this situation as if he is your son.”

“Ken-” Deb started.

The coach held up his hand. “Deb, he’s our grandson. I see the love you have for him when you are holding him. I know you feel the same way I do when you watch our daughter care for him. We’re still Ali’s parents and we still want what is best for her, but I think we should let her make this decision.”

Deb sighed and looked to Ali. “I just want what’s best for you. It’s not that I don’t consider Ashlyn and Easton family.”

Ali nodded. “I know, mom. And I know that it must be hard to see me grow up, I know because just over the last month I’ve seen Easton grow and learn new things and it’s scary to think that he will need me and Ashlyn less and less. But I’m so excited, mom. I’m so excited to begin this journey with Ashlyn.” Ali said with a big smile as she reached over to grab Ashlyn’s hand.

Ashlyn and her grandmother had stayed silent through the Krieger’s conversation. It didn’t matter how many times Ali assured them that this is what she wanted, Ashlyn still felt guilty because all of this was because of her screwed up family. She thought back to her conversation with Abby about marrying Ali, and even though she hadn’t asked for permission and she didn’t have a ring, she knew now was the perfect time to make sure their whole family knew this was it for both of them. She loved Ali and she was going to spend the rest of her life with her. It was important that the Kriegers knew how serious Ashlyn was about their daughter.

“Hey, Alex?” Ashlyn said softly.

“Yeah?” 

“Can I ask you something?” 

The whole family was looking at the two of them and Ashlyn suddenly became nervous when Ali giggled. “Of course you can, silly. What’s up?” the defender said as she grabbed Easton off the floor and set him in her lap and began to play with him.

Ashlyn gained courage at the sight of Ali playing with the baby in her arms. 

“I know this is kind of impulsive, but everything we have done over the past month has been impulsive. You’ve been my best friend going on 3 years and you were always meant to be my soulmate. Let’s just make everything official, let’s stop questioning how we are supposed to act, and just start acting. Marry me. Be Easton’s mom and my wife. Take on the world with me, starting now.”

Ali gasped and had tears running down her face as she nodded her head ‘yes’ and pulled Ashlyn in for a deep passionate kiss. They pulled away giggling as they felt Easton squirming between them. They both cooed down to him and Ashlyn grabbed his little hand in hers. “What do you think about that, buddy? Me, you, and mommy are going to be a family.”

Ali smiled widely at them and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. “I love you.” Ali whispered.

“I love you too.” Ashlyn said sincerely. The couple turned to the adults when they heard Ken clear his throat.

“Not going to ask for permission to marry my daughter, Harris?” he asked in a teasing tone.

Ashlyn blushed and looked down. “Sorry, Coach. You know me, I’ve always thought it best to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Everyone laughed at the truth of the statement. “That is very true.” 

“This isn’t a joke, Kenneth.” Deb snapped and looked around the room at everyone. “This is stupid. You two are not getting married. And it’s nothing against Ashlyn. I’m thinking about what is best for both of you.”

“What’s best for both of us is to be together.” Ali argued back. She didn’t appreciate her mom ruining their happy moment. 

“I won’t approve of this.” Deb said firmly.

“Good thing I’m not asking for permission.” Ali argued back.

“Alexandra, don’t talk to your mother like that.” Ken said with a pointed look. He wished his daughter would drop the argument and let him reason with his wife later. Ken loved Ashlyn, she was like a daughter to him and he knew that she would treat his daughter right.

“I’m not a child anymore. I actually have a child of my own. We just got finished making that fact clear.”

“You are still my child, Alex, and I can tell you when you’re being irresponsible and stupid. You are 17 years old. You are NOT getting married.” Deb said in a tone that slightly scared Ashlyn.

“Ali, babe, maybe we should drop this for right now.” Ashlyn whispered into her girlfriend’s ear. 

“No, we’re engaged. You just asked me; I said yes, my mother needs to get over it.” 

“We need to respect your parents. Maybe it was a little too impulsive of me to ask right now.” Ashlyn tried to explain and diffuse the situation she had caused.

Ali’s face went from anger to hurt. “You didn’t mean it?” Ali asked as tears started to form in her eyes.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. “What!? No, baby, of course I meant it!” 

“Then why are you being such a push over?” Ali yelled at her which startled Easton.

“Ok, we all need to calm down.” Grandma said in a quiet tone that got everyone to look at her. “Ali, you know my granddaughter wants to marry you, you should never question that. But I also agree with Ashlyn that we need to be respectful of your parents’ wishes.” Grandma then nodded towards Ken and Debbie letting them take over the conversation.

Ken nodded his thanks and then turned to the two young women. “I can’t speak for your mother because we obviously disagree. But I see that what you two have is special, but I do have concerns. I mean, you’re in high school. You don’t have jobs. How are you going to manage being married? I’m fine with you being engaged but maybe we should put off wedding planning until life is a bit more stable for everyone. Can we agree on that?” Ken asked, looking to Deb for approval on what he just said.

Deb sighed and nodded. “I don’t like it, but as long as they aren’t getting married right now then I can tolerate an engagement.” She then turned to the girls to also see them nod in agreement. 

Grandma agreed also and turned to her granddaughter. “Ashlyn, if you had bothered to tell me you planned on asking Ali to marry you then you would have had a ring.”

“A ring?” Ashlyn asked with confusion written on her face. “I can’t afford a ring right now, grandma.” Ashlyn then quickly turned to Ali. “But don’t worry, as soon as the season is over I’ll get a job and buy you a ring, baby.”

Ali giggled. “I know. Don’t worry about it.” 

Grandma shook her head and looked down at her own hands. She then slowly slipped the ring off her finger that Ashlyn’s late grandfather had given her over 50 years ago. “Ashlyn, sweetheart, I want you to give this to Ali.” 

Everyone’s heads snapped to grandma. “What?” Ashlyn asked dumbfounded. She never expected her grandmother to do something like that. 

“I want you to give my ring to Ali.” She said as she looked down to admire it one more time. She then turned to Deb and Ken. “I know this might not be much comfort, and you might want me to talk my granddaughter out of doing something so rash. But this ring? This ring was put on my hand when I was 16 years old, younger than our two girls here. I know the times are a lot different now than they were then, but this ring saw forty years of a happy marriage. It saw a boy going off to war and returning as a man. It saw children being born. It saw childish mistakes that came with being such a young couple, but it never saw anything but true love.” She then turned back to Ali and Ashlyn and held the ring out. “Now, put this on your girl’s hand.” She insisted.

Ashlyn went over to her grandmother and gave her a big hug as she took the ring. “Thank you, grandma. I love you.” She whispered into the older woman’s ear.

“I love you too, sweetie. And I love Ali.”

Ashlyn then walked back over to Ali, who was still holding Easton. “Do you mind?” she asked shyly as she was on one knee in front of Ali, holding out the ring.

Ali shook her head. “Of course not.” Ali said with tears streaming down her face as she shifted Easton from her left arm to right arm so she could hold out her left hand to the goalkeeper.

Ashlyn slipped the ring on her fiancé’s hand and smiled brightly. “Guess that makes it official?” she said as she looked to the Krieger’s for approval. Ken and Deb looked at each other and slightly smiled before they nodded to Ashlyn.

“It will take some adjusting. I’m not 100% on board with the idea, but this is y’alls’ decision.” Deb said in the affirmative.

“Oh my god! This means I get to plan a wedding!” Ali squealed and everyone groaned in anticipation. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Harris! Engen! Pick up your pace!” Coach Krieger yelled at the two jocks as they ran laps around the soccer field. 

“Gosh, your father-in-law is a real pain in my ass.” Whitney huffed as she picked up the pace and Ashlyn caught up with her. 

“Future Father-in law, and tell me about it.” Ashlyn mumbled. “I think my legs are on fire.”

“Well it’s your fault we have to run. We were only late to practice because you wouldn’t give me back my history book and made me chase you all the way to the library.”

“Whatever.” Ashlyn said and shoved her best friend before taking off to finish the last lap of their punishment. 

They finished their punishment laps and then joined in the drill the rest of the girls were doing. Once practice was over Ken walked up to Ashlyn and Ali as they were doing their cool down stretches. “Ashlyn, are you and Easton having dinner with us tonight?” he asked, referring to fact it was Monday and Ashlyn usually just stayed at her own house on Mondays.

“Well, I wasn’t planning on it.”

“You should. Actually, stay the night.” Ken insisted.

Ashlyn looked at him in confusion. “I don’t know, Coach. I would hate to ditch my grandma after I’ve already been at y’all’s house all weekend.”

“Don’t worry about it. Deb already talked to her.”

“Why do I feel like something is going on here?” Ali asked with a raised eyebrow to her dad. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ken faked innocence and walked off.

~~ ~~

Ashlyn and Ali went to Ashlyn’s house first to pick up Easton and a few things they needed before heading over to the Krieger’s house. 

When they got there they noticed neither Deb nor Ken’s cars were in the driveway. 

“That’s strange.” Ali said as she got of the car and went to get Easton out of his carseat. Ashlyn grabbed all of their stuff and followed her fiancé and son inside the house. As soon as Ali walked into the kitchen she saw a note laying on the counter with her name on it.

“What’s that?” Ashlyn asked as she walked in and went straight to the refrigerator. 

“A note from my parents.” Ali explained. “They said they are staying at your grandmother’s tonight because they all thought we could use a little family time, just the three of us. There is lasagna in the fridge for me to put in the oven for dinner.”

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. “Wow, that’s nice of them. They didn’t have to do that.”

Ali shrugged and moved Easton a little higher on her hip. “No, they didn’t have to, but I’ll admit I’m looking forward to it. Just the three of us, with a house all to ourselves. Sounds kind of nice.”

“I guess…So we haven’t really talked about when we would get married…or where we would live. Sounds like you definitely don’t want to live at either of our houses.” Ashlyn ventured out.

Ali sighed, “It’s not that I want us to move, I just feel like if we are really going to show my parents that we are adult enough to raise a baby and be married then maybe we should get an apartment and jobs. We also can’t set a wedding date without my parents’ approval and I don’t see us getting it anytime in the near future. Plusss-” Ali started as she moved closer to Ashlyn and grabbed at the front of her shirt. “I want to move after we get married so we will be able to do newly married couple stuff. And we can’t do that if we’re in the same house as my parents or your grandmother.” She whispered out and planted a firm kiss on Ashlyn’s lips.

The blonde groaned and pulled Ali and Easton closer to her. “How soon can we put him down for the night so me and you can have some alone time?”

Ali giggled and pushed Ashlyn away slightly. “Easy, stud. He won’t go to sleep for another couple of hours. Let’s have some family snuggle time on the couch and we’ll do homework after dinner and putting him down. THEN I’m all yours.”

Ashlyn had a goofy grin spread across her face. “Perfect.”

~~

“Ashlyn, baby, faster.” Ali moaned loudly as she raked her hands through her fiancé’s hair. 

Ashlyn put a new haste to her hand movements but brought her lips up from Ali’s neck to her lips. “You have to be quiet, baby. We don’t want to wake Easton.” She ghosted against Ali’s lips before crashing down hard on her. 

Ashlyn felt Ali pulse around her fingers and when Ali was spent she moved down to kiss Ali’s center. She could still feel Ali slightly pulsing and she smiled into her folds and placed another kiss there before licking up some of Ali’s juices and then moving back up her girlfriend’s body. Ashlyn kissed every part of Ali she could until she reached her lips. “I love you.” She whispered to her.

“I love you too.” Ali whispered back and they both laid back in the darkness and took deep breaths. 

It wasn’t ten minutes later that they heard Easton crying over the baby monitor. 

Ashlyn groaned as she started to move out of the bed. “Be right back.” She mumbled as she slipped only her boy shorts and sports bra on before going down the hall to the boy’s room. 

A couple minutes later Ashlyn walked back into Ali’s room with Easton snuggled against her chest. Ali had slipped some clothes on while Ashlyn was gone and was sitting up in the bed when they walked in. “Awww, aren’t you two adorable.” Ali cooed and held her hands out.

Ashlyn passed Easton off to her and Ali cuddled him close and placed a kiss to the top of his head. Ashlyn smiled sweetly at them and climbed back into bed. “You know this is what my parents wanted to happen, right?” Ali said as she moved to lie down in bed with Easton slowly falling back asleep against her chest.

Ashlyn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean they were hoping if they left us here to make ourselves dinner and have intimate time, that when Easton woke up in the middle of the night like he always does that we would see how hard it is and groan and complain and talk about how hard it is to be grownups. My mom thought this would help change our minds about getting married.” Ali explained in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Oh…Are we complaining?” Ashlyn asked in confusion. She didn’t see how this was much different from any other night.

Ali giggled and kissed the top of Easton’s head. “No, the jokes on them. This-” she said motioning to the three of them in the bed, “is perfect.”

Ashlyn had a goofy grin come across her face before she bent down to place a kiss on Ali’s lips and tell her goodnight before turning the light off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Ali's parent's reactions might not be completely realistic, but I hope it came out ok. Tell me what you're thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

~~ ~~ One Week Later ~~ ~~

“Ms. Harris, I’m not surprised you’re late. However, I am surprised that you are late, Ms. Krieger.” Mrs. Grey said as soon as the couple walked in late to their first period art class. 

“Sorry, Mrs. Grey. We were running a little behind this morning.” Ali explained and hurriedly shuffled to her and Ashlyn’s desk.

“Well, why don’t you two just head to the office and get a tardy slip before coming into my class.”

Ali looked up in shock. Ali Krieger had NEVER been tardy, it was something she was proud of considering she was now engaged to the girl who has only been on time to a handful of classes. 

“Look, Mrs. Grey-” Ashlyn started, she knew that her girlfriend didn’t deserve to get in trouble for being late. It’s not like Ali was a trouble maker or anything, she was actually quite the opposite. 

“No, I really don’t want to hear any excuses, Ms. Harris. Go to the office. Both of you.” Mrs. Grey said as she pointed to the door. 

Ali sighed and set her backpack down at her desk and then turned to go back out of the classroom. Ashlyn watched as her girlfriend left the classroom and then turned back to their teacher. “That isn’t fair to her.” Ashlyn argued.

“I don’t want to hear it, Ashlyn. Go to the office.” Mrs. Grey said sternly.

“No, Ali is the world’s most perfect student! Do you know why we were late this morning? Because our baby cried non-stop all morning! Because nothing we did could comfort him. He was still crying when we finally left him with my grandmother, and by the end of it, Ali was in tears because she had to leave him while he was upset! We have had him for almost two months and this is the FIRST time Ali has been late. I understand sending me to the office, but did you really have to send her?!” 

“Look, Ms. Harris, I admire you and Alexandra for taking in your nephew, but don’t think that excuses anyone from the rules. Now go to the office for being tardy and realize that you are lucky I’m not writing you up for talking back to me.”

Ashlyn huffed and turned to go out of the classroom. She saw her friends and they all gave her sad smiles as she walked past them and towards the office but slammed the classroom door behind her. As she was walking in the office, Ali was coming out, and Ashlyn noticed tears in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” the goalkeeper asked, grabbing Ali and pulling her into a hug. “Is this about being late to class?”

Ali shook her head. “No, I just want to go home and be with Easton. I didn’t like leaving him this morning. Something is obviously wrong, he never acts like that.” 

“Sweetheart, he’s a baby. He’s just having a bad morning, that doesn’t mean something is wrong.” Ashlyn tried to soothe her fiancé as she rubbed her back and held her close.

Ali pushed her away and wiped at her tears. “No, something is wrong and I’m going home. You can’t talk me out of it. I know my baby.” Ali turned to go back into the office to inform them that she was leaving instead of going to class; she then went back to Mrs. Grey’s class room to grab her stuff. 

Ashlyn followed quickly behind her. “Ali, we can’t just miss a whole day of school.”

“Look, I don’t care if you want to stay here. Just give me the keys to the jeep and I’ll go check on my baby by myself.”

Ashlyn sighed. “No, I’ll go with you. Hold on.” Ashlyn said before running into the office to also inform them that she was leaving for the day.

They drove in silence to Ashlyn’s house and Ali hopped out quickly when they got there. She could hear Easton crying the second she opened the door and went running into the living room to find Grandma rocking him, trying to get him to stop crying. 

“Hey, grandma” Ali greeted over the baby’s cries. She didn’t even bother to ask, she just took Easton from grandma’s arms and held him close to her chest. “Ssssh, baby, its ok. Mommy’s right here.” She whispered to him and placed a kiss to his head.

Ashlyn came running in a second later and looked to her grandma. “He hasn’t stopped crying since we left?” the blonde asked in disbelief.  
Grandma shook her head. “No. I’ve tried everything. He might be sick.”

Ashlyn groaned and went into the kitchen to find the number for the pediatrician grandma used for his checkups. She called to make an appointment with Easton still screaming in the background. “I got him a doctor’s appointment. It’s in two hours.”

“Two hours!?” Ali exclaimed. “What are we supposed to do with him for two hours? What if something is seriously wrong? He’s obviously trying to tell us that something is bothering him!” she said, frustration evident in her voice as she rocked the baby in her arms. 

Ashlyn shrugged and looked to the crying baby in Ali’s arms and felt helpless. 

“Why don’t we go ahead and go to the doctor’s office. They might take you early if you are just sitting in the waiting room.” Grandma suggested.

“We?” Ashlyn questioned. “You don’t have to come, grandma. That’s too much trouble, Ali and I got this. He’s our responsibility.”

“Actually, I do have to come. I’m his legal guardian, I have to sign all of the paper work.” Grandma explained as she stood up from her chair and started to get ready to leave. 

~~ ~~ 

They got to the doctor’s office and Ali immediately went to the check-in desk while Ashlyn and Grandma followed in behind her with Easton. 

“Hi, can I help you?” the receptionist asked kindly as Ali approached. 

“Yes, my fiancé made an appointment for our son, Easton Harris. But we brought him in early in hopes that we could get in faster. He seems to be really upset. I can’t tell if he feels sick or if he’s in pain. I just want him seen as soon as possible.” Ali explained quickly.

The receptionist nodded and gave Ali a small smile. “Of course, I understand.” She handed Ali a clip board. “Just fill out this information and bring it back up here. If the doctor happens to have a free time, I can see about getting him in early.”

Ali sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“First time mother, right?” the receptionist asked.

Ali smiled and took a deep breath. “That obvious?” 

The older woman giggled. “Yeah, but it’s ok. You have every right to be worried. Mothers just want their babies to feel better, I understand.”

“Thank you.” Ali said a lot calmer than when she had walked into the doctor’s office. She went to where Grandma and Ashlyn were sitting with Easton and sat down beside them to start filling out the paper work.

Ali started with his name and then paused. She stared at the paper for a long moment before she quickly handed it to grandma and then excused herself to the bathroom.

Ashlyn and grandma looked after her confused. “What was that about?” grandma asked as she started to finish filling out the form.

Ashlyn shrugged and went back to trying to quiet Easton.

Ali had been in the bathroom for five minutes and Ashlyn was starting to worry. Grandma had already finished filling out the form and turned it back in to the front desk, so now they were just waiting to be seen by the doctor. Grandma noticed Ashlyn’s glances towards the bathroom. “I’ll go check on her.” Grandma said as she stood up and went towards the bathroom. Easton was still cranky and had settled enough in the blonde’s arms to cause Ashlyn not to argue with her grandmother even though she rather be the one to check on her fiancé. 

“Ali?” Grandma called out as she walked into the bathroom. She could hear sniffling coming from one of the bathroom stalls and she knew it was Ali. “Ali, sweetheart, why don’t you come out here and talk to me.” She insisted. 

Ali wiped at her tears real quick before slowly opening the stall door to face grandma. 

Grandma smiled sadly at the teenage girl and held her arms out for a hug. Ali immediately responded and cried silently into grandma’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, baby girl?” 

Ali sniffled and tried to say something but words wouldn’t come out. 

Grandma rubbed her back gently. “Just take a deep breath and then tell me what’s wrong.” She encouraged softly.

“I…I” Ali choked out before bringing a hand up to cover her face. “I don’t know his birth date. I don’t know if he was allergic to anything. I don’t know his social security number. I couldn’t fill out a simple medical form about MY baby.” She cried and burrowed her head into grandma’s chest.

“Oh, Ali. It’s ok. This is the first time he’s been sick since we got him. How were you supposed to know?”

Ali pulled back a little and bent over to take a deep breath. “Because I’m his mother. I should have asked you.” She said, looking back up to the older woman. “I’m his mom. Ashlyn is his mom. Yet, we couldn’t do something as simple as bringing him to the doctor ourselves. And I’m glad we had to bring you, because how embarrassing would it have been to have called you to ask for my own son’s birth date!” 

Grandma sighed. “Ali, this is just something we will all have to learn. I don’t have his social security number memorized like I do Ashlyn’s. I had to pull a piece of paper out of my purse where I had written it down. I know his birthday because I remember the day Chris called to tell me I was a great-grandmother. And, I don’t know if he’s allergic to anything or not, but we can always ask the doctor to schedule an allergy test so we can find out. You’re right that you and Ashlyn are his mothers, but you’re new moms. And there is no shame in asking about these things. When we get home, you, Ashlyn, and I will go over everything that social services gave me on him. By the end of the day, you will know just as much about your son as I do.”

Ali sighed and wiped at her eyes again before going to give grandma a hug. “Can I just ask one thing before we go back out there?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” 

“When’s his birthday?” 

Grandma chuckled and pulled the girl into a tight embrace. “July 6th.”

“Good to know.” Ali said with a giggle and walked out of the bathroom with grandma and back towards Ashlyn and Easton. 

“Everything ok?” Ashlyn asked and held Easton out to Ali, who happily took the baby into her arms. 

“Yeah, we’re good now.” Ali said and placed a kiss to the top of Easton’s head. 

Ashlyn didn’t get the chance to question it anymore because a nurse came out and called Easton’s name. Ashlyn and Ali stood with Easton and Ashlyn turned to help her grandmother out of her chair. Grandma shook her head, “I’m going to stay here. Y’all just needed me to sign papers, you can handle it from here.” 

Ashlyn just shrugged and let it go, but Ali turned around and smiled at the older woman, grandma returned it with a wink.

~~

“How’s Easton?” Ken asked as he called his daughter, he called immediately when he realized both girls had left school.

Ali sighed, she had Easton curled up on her chest fast asleep for the first time that day. “My baby has an ear infection. Poor thing is worn out, the doctor gave us some medicine that we can put in his bottle. He’s asleep now.” 

“Well I’m glad he’s feeling better. Are you and Ashlyn going to head back to school now?” he asked.

Ali scrunched her eyebrows in confusion even though her dad couldn’t see her. “Did you not just hear me tell you that my baby is sick? It’s almost 11 o’clock and it’s a Friday. We’ll just come back on Monday.”

Ken sighed, “I’m guessing you forgot that you have a game tonight?” 

Ali’s eyes went wide. “Shit.” She mumbled.

Ken chuckled, “Language, baby girl.” 

“Sorry, daddy. But I just completely forgot. I got so worried about Easton that I didn’t think about it, and if I didn’t remind her than I can guarantee you that Ashlyn forgot also.”

“Yeah, I figured. Look, y’all can still play if you come back to school. But you can’t play if you’ve skipped school. That’s not my rule, it’s the school’s rule.”

“Yeah, I know, dad. I’ll send Ashlyn back but I think you’re just going to have to count me out for tonight. I don’t want to leave Easton while he’s sick.”

“Alex, grandma is perfectly capable of taking care of him. You’ve taken him to the doctor and you’ve gotten his medicine. He’ll be fine. Nothing is going to happen to him.” 

“I’m not promising that I’ll come, but I’ll make sure Ashlyn gets there. That’s all you’re getting out of me.” Ali informed her dad.

Ken let out a frustrated breath. “Fine, but you need to take soccer seriously, Alex. I know you have a recruiter looking at you two from UNC, but that might fall through. You need to stay focused.”

“You don’t have to remind me. Bye, dad. I’ll see you later.” Ali said as she hung up, now aggravated with her dad and it showed on her face. 

“Everything ok?” Ashlyn asked as she walked in the living room and sat on the couch beside Ali and Easton.

“My dad just called, you need to go back to school, we have a game tonight.” Ali tried to calmly explain. 

“Then don’t we both need to go back?” Ashlyn questioned carefully, noting her fiancé’s mood.

“I’m not leaving our sick child.” Ali said firmly.

“Ok, well neither will I.” 

“No, you’re going to go back to school and play in tonight’s game.”

“But you aren’t going back.” Ashlyn stated the obvious. 

Ali sighed, “I feel bad enough that I left him this morning when I thought something was wrong. I’m not leaving him now that I KNOW he is sick, Ashlyn.”

“Look, Als, I get that this morning made you feel like a crappy parent, I know because I felt the same way, but we have a responsibility to our team. Our team is counting on us.”

Ali looked at Ashlyn like she had lost her mind. “You don’t think I know this? You don’t think I know that our responsibility to our team is important? I know this Ashlyn, but DO NOT tell me that it is more important than Easton. You can’t fathom how bad of a parent I felt like this morning. All of my life I have had a mother who was there every time I got sick, who filled out all of my doctor’s forms, who became a stay at home mom when they figured out that daycare wasn’t working for me. I have a great mother and right now I feel very inadequate. Right now I feel like maybe I'm to young to be good at this. So just leave me to take care of him because it is the only way I will feel better about myself. Just go!” 

“I understand, baby.” Ashlyn said, trying to soothe her girlfriend. 

“No! You don’t understand, Ashlyn! You don’t even know what it’s like to have a mom! You don’t have any expectations to put on yourself!” Ali yelled at her. 

The hurt that flashed across Ashlyn’s face couldn’t be hidden. There was silence for a moment before Ashlyn stood up from the couch and turned to Ali to speak. “You’re right, Ali. I didn’t have a mom in my life. But don’t you dare think that means I don’t put pressure on myself to be a good parent. I’ve been afraid this entire time that I’m going to fail, Alex. That I’ll wake up one day and feel just like parents did and want to leave! You want to be like your mom, but I pray I don’t turn out like mine!” Ashlyn then turned and grabbed her backpack by the door and started to leave. 

Ali quickly put a sleeping Easton down in his play crib and ran after Ashlyn. “Ashlyn, I’m sorry! Don’t leave. I didn’t mean any of that.”

Ashlyn threw her backpack into the backseat of the jeep and went to the driver’s side, ignoring Ali as she went. “I don’t want to talk to you, Alex. I’m going back to school so I can play in tonight’s game…so I can do something I actually have a chance at being good at!” she then got in the car and left without saying another word to Ali. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

Ali had tried calling and texting Ashlyn but she never got an answer. When time for the ballgame came she left Easton with Grandma and went to the school for the game. She found her mom in the stands and sat beside her. “You ok?” Deb asked as she noticed her daughter looked sad…and maybe a little guilty. 

“I’m fine, but I’ll feel even better once I’ve talked to Ashlyn and cleared something up.” Ali answered vaguely. She used to tell her mom about all of her and Ashlyn’s fights, just to talk and help get some perspective, but lately she doesn’t feel like she can talk to her mom. She’s afraid that admitting her and Ashlyn are fighting is like admitting that they are failing and that her mom was right to doubt them and their engagement. 

“You know you can talk to me, right sweetie?” Deb made sure.

“Honestly, mom, it’s ok. I said something hurtful to Ashlyn, and I will feel better once I’ve been able to talk to her and tell her how much I love her.” 

Deb nodded in understanding and dropped the subject to focus on the game.

It was after half time, when they were losing 2-1, that Ashlyn went down in the box. Ali had a moment of panic but Ashlyn eventually stood up on her own and limped off the field over to the bench to be subbed out for the rest of the game. Ali didn’t even bother to wait for the game to be over before she went and checked on Ashlyn, she was a team member so, of course, she was allowed on the bench even if she couldn’t play. “Are you ok?” Ali asked as she came and sat beside her fiancé. 

Ashlyn kept her eyes on the field, focusing on the game. “Probably just a sprain.” She mumbled as she answered the concerned defender.

“Look, about earli-” Ali started but Ashlyn held up her hand to stop her. 

“Do you really think now is the time or place to be discussing our personal problems, Ali?” Ashlyn spit out under her breath. “Can we please just watch the game for right now?” 

Ali nodded. “Of course, you’re right. Sorry.” She said shyly and ducked her head, she wasn’t used to being in trouble with the blonde, it was usually the other way around.

They lost the game 3-1. Ashlyn was frustrated over the loss, her injury, and her fiancé. She just wanted to go home, ice her ankle, and sleep all weekend. When she stood up from the bench to head to the locker room, Ali saw her wince and immediately stood to help her by grabbing her arm. 

Ashlyn snatched her arm away. “I can get to the locker room without your help, Alex.”

Ali sighed sadly. “I know, I’m just worried. Let me help.”

“Why should I let you help me? You made me feel like shit earlier. I’m not going to act like everything is just fine.”

“Why should you let me help you?” Ali asked incredulously. “Because you’re my fiancé! Because I love you and I’m worried about you! Because this ring means that I’ve promised to spend the rest of my life taking care of you!” Ali said as she shoved her left hand in her fiancé’s face. 

“Why do you always feel the need to take care of me?! You’re always nagging me about homework, and studying, and getting to practice on time. You’re supposed to be my fiancé but you act like my mother! I've never had a mother and I don't need one. Just back off, Ali!” Ashlyn yelled before limping off to the locker room, leaving Ali behind in tears.

~~

Ali got back to the Harris house and went inside. They usually spent Fridays at the Krieger house but Ali was afraid if she took Easton over to her house that Ashlyn would just come here to avoid her. So she waited. She got Easton settled for the night and waited in bed for Ashlyn to come home. 

Ali had been waiting for two hours before she could hear Ashlyn trudging up the stairs. She heard Ashlyn hit the little table that sits in the hall and then she heard Ashlyn yelp and curse under her breath. 

Ashlyn came into the dark room and whispered out, “Ali? Alex, are you here?” 

Ali sat up and turned on the lamp beside the bed. “I’m here. Where have you been?” the brunette asked with a bite in her tone. 

Ashlyn’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Where have I been? I’ve been worrying about my fiancé and son because they weren’t at the house we always stay at every Friday. I waited for you to show up at your parent's house for an hour, worried something had happened to you. I finally called here and grandma told me that you had stayed here.”

“Why didn’t you call my cellphone?” 

Ashlyn shrugged. “I was still being stubborn. If you hadn’t been here than that would have been my next call. I was worried.”

“I stayed here because I figured you would avoid me at my house and come here.” Ali admitted shyly, embarrassed that she thought so low of Ashlyn when she had actually been mature and gone to the Krieger house to find her family.

Ashlyn sighed. “I thought about it.” The goalkeeper answered honestly. “But then I thought about how I hate being away from you two and decided to not be childish.”

Ali started crying and got up from the bed to crush Ashlyn in a hug. “Will you forgive me?” Ali cried into her neck. “You’re an amazing mom. And I know you put a lot of pressure on yourself to not be like your mom. And I’m so sorry about the things I said to you. That was really shitty of me. I was just so worried about Easton that I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry, baby. I love you.”

Ashlyn pulled the brunette in close to her. “I love you too, and I’m sorry also. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at the ballgame. I love your “mama-bear” side, and I love that you want to help me. I was just feeling really emotional because of our earlier conversation. I love that you take care of me, baby. I really do.”

Ali smiled cheekily up to her fiancé. “And I love taking care of you.” She said pecking her lips quickly. “Now come lay down and let me look at your ankle.”

“Allllexxx” Ashlyn whined as Ali pushed her back onto the bed. “It’s fine. I promise.” 

Ali didn’t listen and picked Ashlyn’s leg up to inspect it. Sure enough the goalkeeper had a slightly swollen ankle that was starting to bruise, nothing more serious than a sprain. Ali sighed in relief, “Ok, now I believe you.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and chuckled. “What? You’re not going to kiss my booboo and make it better?”

Ali stuck her tongue out at the blonde but also bent down to kiss the injured ankle just for good measure. “There. Now get ready for bed so we can go to sleep. I’ll go grab you an icepack.”

Ashlyn slowly stood from the bed and wrapped her arms around Ali. “Thank you, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Ali said sweetly and leaned up to give her fiancé a kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get a chapter up last week. I've been sick and then I had New Year's plans that kept me busy. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

~~ Middle of November ~~

Ashlyn had made an incredible save at the end of the game to help Satellite High School win the state championship. The game was played at a college a couple hours away from home, but Deb had still driven Grandma and Easton down to watch the game. 

Ali and Ashlyn were celebrating and taking pictures with all of their teammates. Abby was voted MVP of the tournament, perfect way to end her high school career, and Ashlyn was voted Goal Keeper of the tournament. Ali, along with Alex, Abby, Ashlyn, and Whitney, were given all-state team medals. It was an impressive show of athleticism for the whole team, but it meant the most to Ashlyn and Ali.

Matt Homer had called Coach Krieger and informed him that he would attending the game, specifically to look at Ali and Ashlyn, along with a player from one of the other teams. 

After everything settled down, Ashlyn and Ali walked over to Grandma and Deb to see Easton. Ashlyn was shocked when Ali immediately grabbed the baby boy from his great grandmother and held him close as she smothered him in kisses. “Alex, you’re going to get him all sweaty.” Ashlyn pointed out, knowing this was a pet peeve of her fiancé. 

“I don’t care. We just won the state championship. I’m celebrating with my baby.” She then grabbed Ashlyn’s hand. “Both of them.” She said before kissing Ashlyn on lips. 

Ashlyn smiled into the kiss and held Ali and Easton close to her. They separated when they heard Deb clear her throat. They both looked at her and Deb simply chuckled and nodded her head towards Matt Homer standing to the side of them. 

Ashlyn laughed but Ali blushed deeply and buried her head in Ashlyn’s shoulder. “Sorry, Mr. Homer.” Ashlyn said as she held her hand out for the man to shake.

Matt chuckled and accepted the handshake. “Don’t worry about it. I was the one who came over and interrupted your family celebration. You both played a great game. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” They both responded and Ali shifted Easton a little higher on her hip and kissed his cheek.

Matt noticed the motherly moment and smiled at the two girls. “I’ve talked to Coach Dorrance. He wanted me to invite you both to visit our campus and facilities. It’s not a promise of anything, but it’s a step in the right direction. He wants to meet you, all three of you.”

“Three?” Ali asked in confusion.

“Well, I was telling him how this little guy has a lot of potential.” Matt joked and played with Easton’s hand.

Ali and Ashlyn both smiled, feeling like things were finally falling into place for them. “We would be happy to make it up there for a visit.” Ali said.

Matt smiled at the two of them. “Great. I figured you might be able to come up during your Christmas break? You get a few weeks off, right?”

“Yes! That sounds great.”

“Awesome, I’ll be in touch. See you soon.” He said before walking off. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Ashllllynnn.” Ali whined as her fiancé got ready for work. Ashlyn had been working at a local car dealership since the season had ended. She had worked there before when she was paying off her jeep. Her grandmother had paid for half of the jeep and the dealership owner, a family friend, had let Ashlyn work to pay off the rest. Ashlyn had gone to the dealership a couple of weeks before the season ended to see if she could work for them again once the season was officially over. They were happy to have her back, knowing she was a good worker. She detailed cars for them, meticulously cleaning every vehicle that came on the lot. It was hard and tedious, but she made good money. 

Ashlyn was able to save most of the money she made because they only paid for Easton’s essentials and everything else was taken care of by Ashlyn’s grandma or Ali’s parents. Ashlyn was hoping that by the beginning of the next school year she would have enough money for them to move to a small apartment, that’s if Ali’s parents let them.

“What, baby?” Ashlyn said as she buttoned her work shirt and started to put on her tennis shoes. 

“I don’t want you to leave.” Ali said sadly from the bed she was laying in. It was their Thanksgiving Holiday and they had the whole week off of school. Ashlyn was working full days every day of the break but Thanksgiving Day. 

“I have to, Alex. You know this.” Ashlyn explained and leaned in to place a sweet kiss on Ali’s lips.

Ali watched Ashlyn as she finished her shoes and slipped her watch on. Ali kind of envied that Ashlyn had somewhere to go every day, somewhere where she can be useful. “What if I got a job somewhere?” Ali suggested. “Then we would both be working and you wouldn’t feel obligated to work as much as you do. I feel like I never see you now that the season is over.” Ali said with a pouted lip. 

Ashlyn sighed. “Baby, I work as much as I do because I don’t want you to have to work. I like that I can go to work from 3:30 to 7 after school and know that you are here with Easton. I would hate to have to ask Grandma or your mom to keep him anymore than they have to.” 

Ali sighed. “Fine. I just miss you.” 

Ashlyn chuckled and leaned in to kiss her fiancé again. “And I miss you, but now I better leave before I’m late for work. Bye, baby. I love you.” She said quickly before getting up to head out of the room.

“Love you too!” Ali called after her and shook her head. She laid in bed for a little longer until she could hear Easton rustling around in his bed over the baby monitor. She got up and went into the room they had set up for him at the Krieger house. Sure enough, he was slightly sitting up and scooting around the crib. 

“Hey, there’s my big boy!” Ali cooed as she reached into the crib and picked him up. 

Easton smiled at her and reached out to grab her nose. Ali acted as if she was going to eat his hand for a second which made him giggle at her. Ali just laughed and held him close. “Oh, my sweet baby boy, please stop growing up on me.” She said and kissed his cheek before taking him over to the changing table to change his diaper. For some reason Ali was very emotional today. Ashlyn leaving to go to work that morning had really set her emotions off and now as she changed her son’s diaper, she realized how much he has grown in the few months they’ve had him. When she was finished changing him she went down stairs to be with her parents. 

“You ok this morning, sweetheart? You’re being awfully quiet.” Deb said as she watched her daughter feed Easton breakfast.

Ali shrugged. “Yeah, I’m just kind of in a funk now the season is over. I mean, Ashlyn goes to work every day and I just come home and do nothing.” 

“Do nothing?” Deb scoffed. “What made you think you do nothing? Did Ashlyn say something to you?”

Ali looked up at her mom in confusion. “What? Of course Ashlyn didn’t say anything to me. I actually asked if I should get a job and she insisted that I didn’t need one. But I just feel so useless, mom. Like I could be doing something more productive.”

“I see. And do you feel like I do nothing?” Deb asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve been a stay at home mom since you were little. Do you feel like I do nothing?”

“Of course not.” Ali defended. “You’re constantly busy. You’re a member of the PTA and Booster Club. You did a TON for me and Kyle. You keep this house running. You do everything.” Ali said in amazement of her mom. 

“Then you should know that Ashlyn not wanting you to work, is Ashlyn appreciating everything you do to take care of her and your son.”

Ali sighed. “I know that it’s important that I take care of Easton, but it’s not the same as you, mom. I don’t have a house to take care of. I don’t have to go grocery shopping. I don’t have to go to school meetings. Easton’s a baby. I play with him, feed him, change him, and put him down for a nap. That’s not a very hectic work schedule. It’s not the same as Ashlyn working her butt off to save money up for our future!”

Deb smiled at her daughter and reached out to grab her hand. “Sweetie, you’re the only one who doesn’t see everything you do for your little family.” As much as Deb thought her daughter and Ashlyn were too young to be starting out this kind of life, she had to appreciate how mature and responsible they were being.

“What do you mean?” Ali asked as she fed Easton his last bite of food and started to put the plate in the sink and wash it.

“I mean that you come home every day and pick Easton up from Grandma’s. You do play with him, change him, and feed him. But you also bathe him and put him to sleep, which is no easy task. I cannot recall a time where I have ever washed Ashlyn’s or Easton’s clothes. And I honestly can’t recall the last time I’ve washed yours, because I know you are taking care of your family’s needs. You go to the store and buy diapers, baby food, and anything that you and Ashlyn need for school. Every morning you wake up and pack lunch for you and Ashlyn so you can eat healthy. And just recently, since Ashlyn started working, you always make sure that she has dinner when she gets finished with her shift. You are doing such a good job taking care of your family, Alex, and you’re doing it all while you’re in high school! I just wish you would realize how important you are to your and Ashlyn’s family. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have a ‘real’ job. You’re a pretty fantastic mother and fiancé.”

Ali had a few tears slip down her face at her mother’s words. “You mean that?”

Deb nodded and stood to pull her daughter into a hug. “Of course I mean that, sweetheart. I know I’m not the most supportive of you and Ashlyn doing all of this, but I am so proud of you and the woman you’ve become. You really are a great mother.”

Ali cried harder and let her mom hold her. It wasn’t until she could hear Easton babbling on about something that she pulled away and dried her tears. “Thank you, mom.” Ali whispered out and then went to grab Easton out of the baby high chair. “Hey, baby, how about we get ready so we can do some shopping and bring mama lunch today?” Ali said in excitement. She was feeling a little better about her duties as a mother and a fiancé, and she wanted to go take care of her fiancé now.

~~

Ali knew that Ashlyn had one more big project due for school after Thanksgiving before they got out for Christmas Break, so she went by the office supply store and picked up a poster board and a few other things she knew the goalkeeper would need. After that she went and picked Ashlyn up a chicken salad from one of their favorite cafes and drove over to the car dealership. 

Ali grabbed the bag with the salad and picked Easton up out of his car seat and went inside the dealership.

“Hello, Ali!” Harold, the owner, boomed as he noticed the young woman walk in.

“Hey, Mr. Harold.” Ali responded cheerfully. “Do you mind if I bring some lunch into Ashlyn?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. She’s in the garage, straight through that door.” He said pointing to the back and waving at Easton as Ali walked by him.

~~ 

“So what exactly are you working on?” Ashlyn asked Max, one of the guys who worked regularly in the garage. He was working under the hood of one of the cars that Ashlyn had just finished detailing the inside of. 

“Alternator.” Max informed her as he stood and turned to smile at Ashlyn. He was probably a good 5 inches taller than the blonde and maybe only 3 or 4 years older than her, but he knew a lot about engines. Ashlyn laughed as he wiped his hands against his pants and then moved to wipe the back of his hand against his sweaty brow, leaving grease across his face. 

“Gosh, you’re worse than my 5 month old.” Ashlyn laughed and tossed a clean towel at him.

Max blushed slightly and wiped his face clean. Underneath the filth, he was an attractive guy, sharp facial features, black hair, and he kind of had this constant five o’clock shadow that made him look a little older than what he was. “Do you want me to show you?” he asked pointing to the open hood of the car.

Ashlyn nodded eagerly. It wasn’t every day that she got to actually work with the engines of the cars that came through the garage. She didn’t have the experience or knowledge to really do anything.

“So what are you doing with the alternator?” Ashlyn asked as they both leaned back into the engine.

“Replacing it. You want to help?” 

“Sure!” 

Max chuckled at her excitement. “Ok, first we have to remove the belt in order to take the alternator out.” He instructed and pointed to the belt. He then briefly showed her how with his own hands before stepping back and letting Ashlyn have a go. She removed the belt easily and Max handed her a ratchet to remove the bolts so they could remove the alternator next. 

Ashlyn was struggling and Max began to laugh at her. “Come on, aren’t you supposed to be some big, strong, goalkeeper or something.”   
Ashlyn elbowed him in the side and Max just came behind her and moved his hands in from either side of her to help guide her. “Sometimes these can be really tough to do by hand. We have an electric machine that can remove these a lot easier.” He explained as they both put all of their muscle into removing a particularly troublesome bolt. That’s when they both heard a woman clear her throat from behind them. 

Max pulled away from his position behind Ashlyn and turned around but he didn’t recognize the woman standing there. However, Ashlyn recognized her immediately when she turned around. 

Ashlyn cleared her throat and put the ratchet down. “Hey, babe. What are you doing here?”

Ali looked at her fiancé with a hard expression and shifted their son a little higher on her hip. “Came to bring you lunch.” She said and held the bag out with food in it. 

“Thanks!” Ashlyn said and moved to grab the bag. She also went to give Ali a kiss but Ali turned her head making the blonde catch her cheek. Ashlyn stepped back and the three of them stood their awkwardly. “Ummm, babe, this is Max. He’s a mechanic here at the garage. Max, this is my fiancé, Ali, and our son, Easton.” Ashlyn introduced everyone.

Max offered a smile to Ali and wiped his hands off before offering one to Ali. Ali shook his hand and gave him a small smile.   
It went silent again until Max spoke up. “Ashlyn has told me a lot about you two. Shows everyone pictures of Easton all the time too. I feel like I already know the little dude.”

Ali nodded her head, not sure what to make of the man’s words. “Yeah, well, I better get going. It’s close to his nap time.” Ali offered up lamely. She turned to walk out without even saying goodbye to Ashlyn.

Ashlyn quickly set the bag of food down and followed Ali quickly out into the parking lot. “Baby, wait!” Ashlyn called after her.

Ali kept walking at a fast pace towards her car. “Alex, I asked you to wait.” Ashlyn said as she caught up and grabbed her fiancé’s arm. Ali shrugged Ashlyn off and began to put Easton in the car. 

“I don’t know what to think right now, Ashlyn, so I really wish you would just let me leave.” Ali said, trying to hold her tears in. 

Ashlyn sighed, “Come on, baby. You can’t honestly think that there is something going on between me and Max. I mean, I’m gay! I am so fucking gay that you could see the rainbow coming out of my ass from outerspace. He was showing me how to replace an alternator!”

“And that required for him to be all up on you like that with his arms wrapped around you!?” Ali asked, throwing her hands up in frustration.

“I couldn’t get the bolt off. We were just working on it together. It didn’t mean anything. He knows that I’m a lesbian, he knows I have a son, and most importantly he knows I’m madly in love with my fiancé!”

Ali looked away from Ashlyn, trying to calm down. “It didn’t appear that way. I trust you, Ashlyn. I know you aren’t interested in some guy, but…” she trailed off.

“But what, Alex?” Ashlyn asked as put her hands on Ali’s arms to make sure they were facing each other.

“But neither one of us has ever been with a guy. I just don’t like you getting so close to a guy because what if one day he touches you and it makes you feel something.”

“Alex.” Ashlyn said softly and moved to cup Ali’s face in her hands. “You are the only person in this world that I will ever feel something for. You’re it for me. What you saw in the garage was Max being a dude and treating me like he would treat any other girl when it comes to teaching someone about engines. Like he said, he knows all about both of you. He was just being a dude.” 

Ali smiled slightly. “Well, I guess I understand why he would want to be all up on you. You are really really hot.”

Ashlyn smirked. “I know. My fiancé tells me that all the time.” The blonde joked.

Ali rolled her eyes and pulled Ashlyn in for a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you to, sweet girl.”

“Tell Max I’m sorry about being so awkward.”

Ashlyn chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.” Ashlyn then leaned into the open car door and gave Easton a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, buddy. I love you.” She said before closing the door and opening Ali’s car door for her.

“I’ll text you later. Ok?” Ashlyn said as Ali got into the driver’s seat.

Ali nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See ya.” Ashlyn said before shutting the car door and watching Ali drive off.

Ashlyn went back into the garage shaking her head and Max gave an awkward smile to her. “Everything ok?” he asked.

Ashlyn chuckled. “Yea. Everything’s fine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ali get jealous like that, especially over a guy. It was kind of humorous.” The blonde admitted, although this whole incident confirmed her feelings that something is up with Ali today.

Max laughed with her. “Yea, well you’re hot and all, but I know when I’m not wanted. I read your gayness loud and clear. She doesn’t have anything to worry about.” He said with a wink and went to grab his lunch out of the refrigerator as Ashlyn opened the food Ali brought her.

~~ ~~

“Deb, I think something is going on with your daughter today.” Ashlyn admitted to the older woman. Ali was currently upstairs giving Easton a bath and Ashlyn was downstairs watching the nightly news with Ken and Deb. 

“Well, I know she was having a problem this morning but she and I talked. I thought she was fine.” Deb informed the blonde.

Ashlyn pursed her lips as she thought about what could be bothering her fiancé. “I’m going to go upstairs and help with his bath. I’ll see y’all later.” Ashlyn excused herself and headed to find Ali.

Ashlyn walked into the bathroom to see Ali leaning over the tub. Easton was sitting in the little baby tub and Ali had one hand on his back to steady him and was washing him with the other. He would splash his hands into the water and giggle and Ali would coo down to him. Ashlyn had a huge smile spread across her face. “Well aren’t you two just adorable.” Ashlyn said and startled Ali as she walked all the way into the bathroom.

Ali turned around and smiled. “Hey! What’s up?” 

Ashlyn shrugged. “Just wanted to spend time with my woman and my main man…actually, he’s my only man.” Ashlyn joked as she alluded to their earlier conflict that day.

Ali giggled. “Yeah. I really am sorry about that. I just don’t trust guys to keep their hands off my smoking hot fiancé.” Ali admitted with a cheesy grin.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and leaned down to kiss Ali’s lips.

“What’s going on with you today? And be honest.” Ashlyn said as she sat on the floor beside Ali as Ali continued Easton’s bath.

Ali sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just kind of in this weird funk since the season is over. I’m kind of jealous you have something to go do every day.”

Ashlyn nodded. “Well, I’m sorry that you get stuck with Easton every day.” The blonde apologized, figuring that was what Ali was hinting at.  
Ali turned her head back to Ashlyn quickly. “What? You don’t have to apologize for that.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “Well, I mean that is why you’re stuck here, and we are in this mess because of my screwed up family. I’m sorry you’re stuck.” 

Ali shook her head. “Ashlyn Harris, our family does not qualify as being a mess. Our family is perfect. And I love taking care of Easton. It’s honestly the highlight of my day. I just want to feel productive. I feel bad because you’re out making money and I’m at home.”

Ashlyn nodded in understanding. “Well maybe we could find you an afternoon job that you only do a few days a week?”

Ali’s smile went brighter. “Really?”

Ashlyn chuckled. “Really. You don’t have to ask for my permission, Alex. I thought I was being a good fiancé by making it where you didn’t have to work, but if a job is something that you want then you should have just told me.”

Ali ducked her head a little bit. “But you’re my fiancé.”

“Which makes us equals.” Ashlyn said as she stood up from the floor and placed a kiss to the top of Ali’s head. “Now, I’m going to go down stairs and grab some popcorn while you finish up his bath, and then the three of us will snuggle up in bed and forget the rest of the world exists. How does that sound?”

“That sounds amazing.” Ali said as she smiled up at her and watched Ashlyn leave the bathroom before she turned all of her attention back on finishing Easton’s bath.


	8. Chapter 8

“Harris, why are you mowing my front lawn on Thanksgiving Day?” Ken asked as he pulled into the driveway of his house. Deb had sent him to the grocery store for a few things she had forgotten and he came home to Ashlyn pushing the mower down his lawn. 

“Just trying to be helpful, coach.” Ashlyn said as she came to a stop beside him and shut the lawnmower off. 

Ken shook his head. “Then why don’t you go inside and ask the ladies if they need any help cooking. Thanksgiving isn’t the time to be mowing lawns.”

Ashlyn nervously laughed and scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah, about the cooking thing… I tried helping but your daughter kind of snapped at me and told me to leave before I chopped my finger off.”

Ken laughed. “And she thought it was safer for you to mow the lawn?”

Ashlyn shrugged. “She just told me to find something else to do. She doesn’t know I’m out here.”

“Of course she doesn’t. Well finish up because I don’t want my yard looking uneven but then come inside. It’s your day off, you’re supposed to be enjoying it with family.”

“Yes, sir!” Ashlyn agreed as she started the lawn mower up and set out to finish the yard.

~~ 

“When’s your brother getting here?” Ashlyn asked as she came behind Ali and snaked her arms around her waist. 

“He’ll be here soon. As will my aunt, uncle and cousins. I’m looking forward to seeing them.”

Ashlyn hummed in agreement and placed a kiss to Ali’s neck before pulling away. “I better go pick up your grandfather and my grandma soon then. I hear she’s bringing a pecan pie and I can’t wait to taste it.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Just make sure it actually gets here before you eat it.”

“Yes ma’am. Love you!” Ashlyn called as she started to leave the house.

Ali chuckled to herself. “Love you too!” she called back.

Ashlyn pulled back up to the Krieger’s house with her grandmother and Ali’s grandfather right about the time Ali’s Aunt, Ken’s sister, Uncle and cousins all pulled up. Ashlyn helped her grandmother out of the car and grabbed the pie before walking over to Ali’s family. She watched all of Ali’s cousins greet their grandfather and smiled. “Hi. It’s good to see you all again.” Ashlyn greeted. 

Ali’s uncle, Tim, stuck out his hand to shake Ashlyn’s. “Good to see you too, kid. I hear y’all had a great season. You know, being state champs and all.” 

Ashlyn grinned widely. “Definitely a perfect way to end the season. Everyone’s in the house, y’all come on in.” she said as she started to walk towards the house. 

Everyone came in behind her and she led them all to the kitchen as she set the pie down on the counter. The Krieger’s went around greeting each other and catching up and no one noticed Kyle walk in until he cleared his throat loudly.

Ali was the first to spot him and squealed as she ran to him. “Bubba! You’re home!” she said as he caught her in his arms.

Kyle held her tightly and kissed the side of her head. “You bet I am, babes. Now where’s my nephew? I haven’t seen him sense he actually became my nephew.” He whispered in her ear and continued to hold her. 

“He’s upstairs taking a nap. You’ll see him later.” Ali said as she continued to hold onto her brother.

They finally pulled away from each other and Kyle went around greeting everyone. Most of the food was finished cooking and they started to bring it all to the table as the group heard Easton’s cries come over the baby monitor. “Sounds like someone’s up.” Tim chuckled as he carried a basket of bread to set on the table. 

“There’s a baby here?” Grace, Ali’s five year old cousin asked excitedly.

“No, they just like the sound of crying babies.” Her older brother, Lucas, who was ten teased her.

Ali giggled and shook her head. “Yes. We have a baby. Do you want to help me go get him?” the defender asked as she held her hand out to her little cousin.

“Yes!” the little girl cheered and everyone chuckled as the two hurried upstairs to get Easton.

Ken turned to his sister, Beth, curiously. “You didn’t explain to her before you came that Ali and Ashlyn have a baby?” he asked, knowing that he had specifically told his sister so she could explain the situation to her young daughter.

Beth shrugged. “You know how hard that is to explain to a child. We explained it to Lucas, but could you imagine all the questions Grace will have.”

Ken narrowed his eyes at his sister. “It’s better for you to explain it then her ask my daughter to explain it.”

Beth shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’m sure it’s fine. She’ll be too distracted by the baby to actually ask where it came from.” 

It was half way through Thanksgiving dinner, when Grace was looking curiously between Ali and Ashlyn both helping to feed Easton. The little girl finally spoke up. “Are you two his mommies?” she asked the teenage girls.

Ali and Ashlyn’s eyes went wide and they both looked at each other and then to Ali’s aunt and Uncle for answers.

Beth was surprised her young daughter put the pieces together and Tim simply shrugged. Ali took that as her key to answer truthfully. “We are.” She said, not explaining anything any further.

Grace shrugged. “Cool. My friend Conner at school has two daddies.” She stated and then went back to eating her food like nothing was different. The whole table was silent and staring at the little girl for a moment until Kyle started to laugh. 

“Well, I’m glad we got that out of the way.” He joked and everyone laughed with him and went back to their conversations. 

“Oh, how beautiful are the minds of little children.” Ashlyn whispered into Ali’s ear and they both giggled.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“You two leave for Chapel Hill tomorrow right?” Whitney asked as they all sat in the lunchroom. It was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays and Ali and Ashlyn were getting ready for their visit to North Carolina. 

Ali nodded and swallowed the food she had in her mouth before speaking “We are, and my dad is going with us.”

“What about Easton?” Abby asked.

“The recruiter told us to bring him along.” Ashlyn said.

“Why?” 

Ali and Ashlyn both shrugged. “Figured they wanted to see how everything works with us.” Ashlyn answered.

“Well don’t forget about us little people now that you’re moving on up to big time soccer.” Alex teased.

Ali rolled her eyes. “Alex, you are only a freshman and I can already tell that you’ll go far with soccer. You don’t have to worry. You’ll be doing the same thing in a couple of years.”

Alex smiled shyly. “Hope so.” 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Is that everything?” Ashlyn asked as she placed the last suitcase she saw in the back of Ken’s trunk.

“Just have to put your son in there.” Ali said as she came out carrying Easton in his car seat with Ken walking behind her.

Ashlyn opened the door to the back seat and helped Ali strap Easton in to the seat. 

“I call shot-gun!” Ashlyn called out as soon as Easton was strapped in and they had shut the door of the vehicle. 

“No way! I get shot-gun!” Ali argued. 

Ashlyn furrowed her brow. “Why should you get it?” 

“Because it’s MY dad’s car. I’m his little girl, I get priority. Right, daddy?” Ali asked with puppy dog eyes towards her dad.

Ken chuckled and shook his head at the two teenagers. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m going to need help with directions and we all know you aren’t so great at that. And Ashlyn did call it first.”

Ali pouted, “But I’m your little girl.”

Ashlyn laughed and pushed Ali towards the backseat. “Suck it, princess. Your dad wants me to sit up front.” She rubbed it in as she jumped into the front seat.

Ken just laughed at the two before getting in the driver’s seat. 

~~ 

They were six hours in to their 10 hour drive when they stopped for the third time. Ashlyn and Ken both sighed as they watched Ali pace in the grass outside the rest-stop as she tried to comfort a very upset Easton. They had already stopped once for a bathroom break about three hours in because Easton needed his diaper changed, and then they had just stopped an hour before to put gas in the car. Now, for a reason they couldn’t figure out they had a very upset baby with them. Ali had tried everything she could to get him to stop crying and had finally asked her dad to just stop so she could get out with him. 

“I’m going to go see if I can help her.” Ashlyn said as she got out of the car and walked towards her fiancé. 

Ashlyn walked up to them slowly and Ali stopped as she saw her coming. Ashlyn gave her exhausted fiancé a small smile before holding her hands out to take their son. Ali happily handed him over and he stopped crying almost immediately. 

Ali rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me?” she exclaimed.

Ashlyn chuckled and held her son close to her to make sure he stayed calm. “Guess he just wanted his mama.” The goalkeeper smirked.

Ali scoffed. “Fine. Have fun sitting in the backseat with him.” She said before walking back towards the vehicle and getting in the front passenger seat.

Ashlyn just shook her head and got into the backseat as she strapped Easton back into his car seat.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

They eventually made it to Chapel Hill late that night. They had gotten two hotel rooms, one for Ali, Ashlyn, and Easton and one for Ken. They got up the next morning to meet Matt at UNC. 

“Good Morning!” Matt greeted them with a big smile.

They all shook hands and Matt stopped in front of Ashlyn to play with Easton who was in her arms. “He’s gotten big.” He commented.  
Ashlyn smiled proudly down at her son. “Six months old. He’s starting to try to crawl.”

Matt chuckled and stepped back from Ashlyn and the baby. “Just wait till he starts walking. That will definitely help keep you two in shape. I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old, both boys. They can definitely be a handful.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait till he can really play and run around.” Ashlyn said with a big grin across her face. 

Ali pouted and looked to her fiancé. “Well, we don’t want him to grow up to fast. He’s my baby.” She whined as she held out her hands to take the baby from the blonde.

Everyone chuckled as Ashlyn passed Easton to Ali. “Why don’t we go on inside. I’m going to give you a tour of the soccer facilities, then I’ll take you to the cafeteria for lunch before you meet with an admissions officer that will give you a tour of the whole campus.” Matt explained.

“Awesome. Do we have plans once the tour is over?” Ashlyn asked.

“Well, I wasn't exactly sure what your plans were. I didn’t know how flexible you were with having Easton.”

“They’re flexible!” Ken butted in. “I can keep my grandson while they do whatever you want them to do.” 

Ali and Ashlyn both smiled and nodded their thanks to Ken.

“Great! Then I figured we could meet with Coach Dorrance and then maybe we could take you in the field house and run a few drills so Coach can see you. Does that sound ok?” 

“Sounds perfect.” Ali chimed in before they all followed Matt into the athletic building.

~~ 

Ali and Ashlyn were both impressed as they walked through the facilities. After looking at the athleteic facilities and eating lunch, Ken took Easton back to the hotel for his nap and left Ali and Ashlyn to explore the school. They eventually met with an admissions officer that was able to talk to them about all of the majors that were offered and was currently giving them a tour of the campus. They were walking up to the freshman dormitories when Ashlyn stopped them. “Umm, do you think we could look at the married housing?” the goalkeeper asked. 

The woman turned to them with a surprised look on her face. “Oh, you’re married?” 

“Engaged.” Ashlyn explained.

“Well, then I would be happy to show you the married housing. Let me just show Ali the freshman dorms first.”

Ali giggled and took Ashlyn’s hand. “She meant that we are engaged to each other.” Ali politely explained.

The lady’s eyes went wide. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”

Ashlyn shook her head and held her hand up to stop her. “Don’t apologize. We didn’t make that clear earlier. That’s our fault.”

The woman led them towards the married housing and both of the girls were surprised by how nice the housing looked. 

“Would you like to view a one bedroom or two bedroom apartment?” the woman asked.

“Two bedrooms, please. We have a 6 month old son.” Ali explained.

The woman’s face brightened. “Awww, what’s his name?” she asked as she led them into one of the buildings. 

“Easton Christopher.” Ali gushed as she pulled out her phone and showed the woman her screensaver that was a picture of the baby boy.

“He’s adorable.” The woman cooed as she finally opened the door to one of the apartments and led them in. 

The woman stepped back to let Ali and Ashlyn look at the two bedroom apartment. It wasn’t anything elaborate but it had a small living room, a kitchen, and one bathroom. It would certainly be enough for just the three of them. 

“Do you have any more questions about married housing?” 

“Are there a lot of children in married housing or will we be the minority?” Ali asked.

The woman smiled at her. “There are lots of kids running around. There is even a playground here on campus for you to take them to play.”

“A playground? Awesome!” Ashlyn cheered as she pumped her fist.

Ali chuckled at her fiancé. “I am glad there are other kids around. I would hate for us to disturb other couple who aren’t used to kids.”

“I think you would do really well here. Going into a sport automatically gives you a friend group around campus, but I think you’ll appreciate being around other students who are also trying to juggle college and kids.”

Both of the girls nodded in agreement. 

“Well, this was the last stop on the tour. How about I show you back to the athletic office?”

“Sounds great.” Ashlyn agreed as they followed the woman around campus.

~~ ~~ 

“Ali, Ashlyn, I would like to introduce you to Coach Dorrance.” Matt said as he showed the girl’s into the prestigious coach’s office.

Anson stood from his desk and came around to greet the girls. “Good afternoon, ladies. We’re happy to have you here visiting us. What do you think of our campus so far?”

“It’s amazing. I bet it’s even more beautiful in the spring.” Ashlyn joked out of her hatred for cold weather. 

Anson laughed and patted Ashlyn on the back. “Why don’t we all take a seat and talk for a little bit?” he suggested.

Everyone nodded and sat down. “I’m sorry we couldn’t work it for you to come up during the season so you two could practice with the girls and meet them, but I know you’ve both been busy with your own seasons.”

“Not a problem. We’re just glad to be able to visit.” Ali insisted. 

“And we’re happy to have you.” He said sincerely. “Matt speaks very highly of both of you. And I’ve gotten to watch a fair amount of your game film and view your stats. You both seem to be incredible young soccer players.”

“Thank you, sir.” They replied in unison. 

Anson smiled to them and he let his eyes drop to Ali’s engagement ring, which reminded him of the important subject they needed to discuss. 

“I’m sure you understand that even though you are both incredible soccer players, I’m a little cautious when it comes to your personal lives. I, of course, do not want to discriminate against you because you two are mothers. We see men in college sports all the time that have children. However, this would be a little different because you two have a child together and would be on the same team. If we were to offer you both spots on our team then we, as a joint team, will have to really talk about how to handle your duties as a soccer player without taking away from your duties as a parent. I have three children and a grandchild. I understand the importance of being there for your child as a parent and I don't want soccer to take away from you being there for your son. So, before I tell you what I’m expecting. I want you to tell me what you would like to do and how you would balance your family and soccer if you were to come to UNC.”

Ali and Ashlyn looked at each other a little wide-eyed. They weren’t expecting the coach to just jump straight into business. Ashlyn decided to take the lead, “Well, I think something you should know above everything is that we will remain professional. We have been together as a couple of years now and we pride ourselves on remaining professional on the field. We’ve never wanted to make our teammates uncomfortable because of our relationship. Fortunately, as teammates and friends, our current team has embraced our current situation with our son.”

Ali nodded in agreement and spoke up. “We will always try to be professional. And we would find a good childcare program for Easton that would be able to keep him during our practices and classes. I had looked up a daycare here in the Chapel Hill area that opens in the early morning hours so we could even handle any early morning practices. I’ve also talked to my mom who is willing to come up and keep Easton during away games. We’ll do anything to make this work.”

Anson had a serious look on his face as he took in everything the girls were saying and nodded. “Why don’t we go to the field house and run some drills? Matt will get you some workout clothes and take you to the locker room.” 

Ali and Ashlyn both nodded and followed Matt as he gave them some clothes and left them in the locker room by themselves. “That was a little strange.” Ashlyn commented as she took her shirt off.

“Yeah, I mean, he didn’t even tell us what he thought of our plan. I’m kind of worried.” Ali agreed as she slipped on the pair of running shorts they had given her.

They quickly finished getting changed and Ashlyn came up and pulled Ali into her arms. “No reason to worry, babe. We’re going to go out there and kick-ass. Once they see what we can do then we’ll be fine.”

Ali hugged Ashlyn tight. “Good luck out there. I believe in you.” 

“I believe in you too.” Ashlyn responded and gave Ali a quick peck on the lips before pulling apart and leading them out of the locker room. 

Matt and Coach Dorrance ran drills with the two girls for almost two hours. Ali and Ashlyn put everything into their performance. By the end of the practice Ashlyn had barely let anything into the back of the net and they were both drenched in sweat. 

Anson tossed both girls a water bottle and sat down beside them on the turf. “Here’s the thing.” He started and Ali and Ashlyn both held their breath as they listened to him. “I’m glad to know you’ll maintain your professionalism on the field. I expect that out of all of my players. I’m glad to know you’ve looked into childcare options. That will be important when it comes to team practices. However, I want to make something clear. Our staff and administration will support you. If your son is sick, or something comes up, let us know. If your mother can’t keep him during a game, let us know. We’ll work with you. We will support you. Being a part of this program is not only being a part of a team, but being a part of a family." He paused for a second to let the couple take in his words. "The official signing dates for your class do not come up till next fall, but I would like to extend an offer for both of you to come and play at UNC.” 

“Seriously?” Ali asked with tears coming to her eyes.

Anson nodded and Ashlyn let out a cheer as she pulled her fiancé in for a big hug. 

“Thank you so much.” Ashlyn said as she held her hand out to shake the coach’s hand and then Matt’s hand. 

“Thank you for the effort I saw you both put forth today. Hard work will pay off. If you both are willing to give me your all then I am willing to work with you.”

“We really appreciate it.” Ali said with a big smile.

Anson smiled back, “What time do you plan on leaving to head home tomorrow? 

“Probably shortly after breakfast. Maybe around 9 in the morning.” Ali answered.

“Well, I would love to meet the both of you, and your dad and son, tomorrow morning for breakfast. Maybe around 8 at the diner on Main Street?” 

“We would love that.” 

Anson gave them a nod and a wink. “Great. I can’t wait. Matt tells me you have a handsome little boy.”

Ali blushed and nodded. “He’s pretty amazing.”

"I'll see you ladies tomorrow. Have a good day. And go Tar Heels!"


	9. Chapter 9

“Ali, we can’t go crazy. I’m willing to spend $200 but no more than that. We need to keep our money saved up.” Ashlyn insisted as she followed her fiancé into the mall. They were shopping for Easton’s Christmas presents and Ashlyn already knew it was going to be hard to keep the defender to a strict budget.

Ali sighed and grabbed Ashlyn’s hand to hold. “I know. I just want his first Christmas to be special.”

Ashlyn chuckled, “Why? He won’t remember it.”

Ali playfully slapped Ashlyn’s arm. “I just want him to feel loved.”

Ashlyn pulled Ali close and kissed the side of her head. “Sweetheart, I promise you that our little boy feels nothing but love. He has grandparents who love him, a great grandmother who loves him, and us who loves him more than life itself. We could get him 20 presents for Christmas or 2 presents for Christmas and he won’t feel any less loved.” 

“You’re right.” Ali agreed as they walked into a toy store.

30 minutes into their shopping trip, Ali had a shopping cart full and Ashlyn was just enjoying playing with all of the toys.

“Oh my god! Is that a pogo stick?!” Ashlyn exclaimed as she ran to pick it up. 

“Ashlyn, put it down.” Ali said as she looked at some baby clothes, she didn’t even need to look at her fiancé to know that Ashlyn was trying to play with the toy.

“Come on, Alex.” Ashlyn whined as she picked up two of the po-go sticks and brought one over to her fiancé. 

“Ashlyn Michelle, we are not playing with these in the middle of the store. Go put them back.”

The blonde gave Ali her best puppy dog face that turned into a cheesy grin when she heard Ali sigh and grab one of the pogo sticks out of Ashlyn’s hand. “I’ll race you down this aisle but that’s it.”

“Yes!” the goalkeeper cheered and set up a starting line for her and her fiancé. “On the count of three.” 

They counted together “One, two, three!” and then they were both off jumping down the aisle. They were neck and neck till about 2/3 of the way down the aisle and Ashlyn began to pull into the lead. But Ali wasn’t going to let the blonde win after she had bugged her to do this damn race anyway. Ali started jumping at full speed and when they reached the end of the aisle Ali lunged forward to get ahead and ended up crashing to the ground, knocking Ashlyn to the ground with her. Ashlyn landed slightly on top of Ali and immediately pulled away to check to see if Ali was ok. “Oh my god! Alex, are you hurt?” Ashlyn asked in panic as she ran a hand over her fiancé’s body. 

Ali stayed still for a second before finally flipping over on to her back so she could look at Ashlyn. She took in her fiancé’s worried face and began to laugh. Her laugh grew louder and Ashlyn eventually joined in. They laughed for a good minute and sat up and leaned against the shelves full of toys. Some other customers would look down the aisle but always turn away when they saw the young couple laughing on the floor. Eventually Ashlyn sobered up and looked over Ali to make sure she was really ok. “Are you hurt?” she asked again.

Ali shook her head and dried the tears of laughter from her eyes. “I’m great. That’s the most fun I’ve had in a while.” She said with a big smile.

Ashlyn smiled with her but it slowly turned into a frown. She thought about it for a second. When was the last time she took Ali on a fun date? When was the last time they stopped acting like parents and acted like actual teenagers? She suddenly realized that racing Ali down the aisle on a pogo stick was the most fun she had had in months.

“It was a lot of fun.” Ashlyn whispered and slowly stood from the floor and held her hand out to help the defender up from the floor. 

Ali went back to their shopping cart and Ashlyn picked up the two pogo sticks and put them in the shopping cart with the rest of their stuff.

Ali laughed and began to take them out of the cart. “Nice try, stud, but we aren’t buying those.”

“Why not?” Ashlyn asked. “You said yourself that it was the most fun you’ve had in a while.”

“Yeah, but we can’t spend money on that, Ash.”

“I think we should. I think we should start acting more like our old selves. We’ve been so caught up in the serious parts of life that we forgot to still have fun. So let’s buy ourselves some pogo sticks.”

Ali giggled and shook her head. “You’re a child, but fine, if you really want them then we’ll buy them.”

Ashlyn smiled widely at her. “Awesome! Thanks, Mommy!” she joked and kissed her fiancé’s cheek before running off to look at another toy for Easton. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Kyle! My favorite brother-in-law!” Ashlyn said as she approached her fiancé’s brother while she held Easton in her arms.

It was the 23rd of December and Kyle was at home for a couple of days for Christmas break. Ashlyn was still on her mission to make sure her and Ali added some more fun back in their life. 

Kyle rolled his eyes. “I’m not your brother-in-law yet.”

“Fine, Kyle, my son’s favorite uncle!”

Kyle sighed dramatically. “What do you want, Harris?”

“Well, my grandmother went to my uncle’s house for the holidays and your parents are going to a Christmas party tonight, so I was wondering if you might be willing to keep your nephew while I take your sister out. A bunch of the girls from the team are hanging out tonight and I think it would be good for your sister to have the night off. Ya know?”

Kyle smiled and held his hands out to take Easton from the blonde’s arms. “Would be my pleasure. We need some Uncle/Nephew bonding time. I feel like I’m not around enough to get to know him.”

Ashlyn smiled widely. “Really?!”

Kyle nodded his head and began to play with the little boy in his arms. “We’ll be fine. Have fun with the Mrs.” 

Ashlyn thanked him and ran upstairs to tell Ali that they were going out with their friends tonight.

~~ ~~

“I’ll have my cellphone with me so call if you need me.” Ali instructed her brother as they got ready to leave the house. They were meeting the girls at a bar two towns over and were planning on getting in with their fake ids. Ali was wearing a tight black dress that hugged all of her curves and Ashlyn was wearing black skinny jeans and a light blue button down. 

Kyle took in their appearance and nodded in approval. “Damn, my sister is one hot mama.”

Ashlyn smirked from her place behind Ali. “Tell me about it.” She said as she grabbed Ali’s hips and nipped Ali’s ear.

Ali elbowed her fiancé and gave her attention back to her brother. “I’m being serious, Kyle. If you need me, call me. His usually goes to sleep around 8. Make sure you warm the bottle that’s in the fridge before you give it to him. Also, make sure his diaper is clean before you put him down for the night.”

Kyle chuckled, “I got this, Alex. Go have fun!”

Ali sighed and bent down to Easton who was playing with some toys on the floor. She ran a hand over his head and moved some toys closer to him. “Ok, be good for Uncle Kyle, baby. I love you. Me and mama will be back later.” She then picked him up to kiss him really quick and then put him back down with all of his toys. 

Ashlyn just watched and held her hand out for Ali once she was finished telling Easton bye. “Ready to have some fun?” 

Ali nodded and took Ashlyn’s hand. “Bye, Kyle! Thanks for keeping him.” Ashlyn called out as she led Ali to her jeep. 

~~

“You’re here!” Megan cheered as she ran to crush Ali in a hug. 

“Love you too, Pinoe.” Ashlyn pouted beside the two.

“Oh, whatever, Harris.” Megan joked and shoved the goal keeper.

They all laughed and Ashlyn looked around the group. “We still waiting on Abby?”

“Yea. It took a while to convince her to come out with us. Sarah broke up with her yesterday over the phone.” Whitney informed her friend. 

“What? That’s horrible. Wasn’t Abby supposed to be visiting her for New Years?” Ali asked. 

“Yep, but Sarah went ahead and called it off because she didn’t think they could continue doing the long distance thing, especially with them going to separate colleges.”

“Damn. That sucks.” Ashlyn admitted. “That’s why I’m making sure Ali and I go to the same college. She ain’t losing me.”

Ali chuckled. “I’m marrying you, dumbass. Our love is different. We could be on opposite sides of the world and I still wouldn’t break up with you.” she said as she leaned up to give the blonde a quick kiss on the lips.

“Ok, ewwww. We need to get you two drunk. You're acting to much like a married couple.” Megan said with a disgusted face at her friends. 

“Drunk or not I’m still gonna love my woman.” Ashlyn teased as she pulled Ali into her side and rested her hand on the defender’s ass to give it a little squeeze.

“Yeah, but I rather have y’all humping each other than listen to all your mushy lovey dovey bullshit.”

The girls laughed and then saw Abby walking up to them. “Finally!” Megan called out as she slung an arm around their former captain. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’m here, let’s just go inside.”

They all made their way inside and Ashlyn dragged Abby to help her get drinks while the rest of the girls grabbed a table. 

“Whitney told be about you and Sarah. You ok?” Ashlyn asked as they waited for the bartender to get them the beers they had ordered.

The forward shrugged. “I guess. She said it would be different to be in a long distance relationship in college compared to high school. I guess she wants options when she goes to Virginia.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear it. I know you really liked her.”

Abby nodded. “Remember the conversation we had on the beach after your brother’s funeral?”

“Yeah.” Ashlyn whispered.

“Well, I was right. Ali agreed to marry you because you and Ali have something unique, something that not all couples have, and something that Sarah and I apparently did not have.”

“Are you going to be ok?” Ashlyn asked as she put a hand on her friend’s back.

“Yeah.” Abby said as the bartender but the beers down and she grabbed a couple to carry. “I’m going to be good. I’m gonna go to college and find me some other girl.”

Ashlyn smirked at her friend. “Hell right you are!” 

By 11 o’clock all of the girls were pretty wasted, including Ali and Ashlyn. Ashlyn came up behind Ali who was dancing with Whitney and snaked her arms around her waist. “Let’s go to the jeep.” She whispered hotly in Ali’s ear.

Ali gulped and had to trust Ashlyn’s arms to keep her upright as her knees went weak. “You can’t drive home. You’re drunk.”

“I’m not planning on driving. I’m planning on fucking you in backseat.”

Ashlyn did have to hold Ali up as Ali moaned and gave into what Ashlyn wanted. “Take me to the jeep.”

Ashlyn practically carried Ali out of the bar. She rested Ali against the side of the jeep as she opened the doors to through down the back seats so the trunk and backseat extended into one long flat surface. 

“Get in.” Ashlyn demanded and Ali didn’t wait to be told a second time. Ashlyn crawled into the back behind her and shut the door. Ashlyn looked at Ali with hunger. It had been a while since they had done this, just had crazy drunk sex, and they were both eager. 

Ashlyn didn’t waste time as she straddled Ali and began sucking on her neck and leaving wet open mouth kisses down the exposed skin on Ali’s chest. Her hands trailed down Ali sides until they hit the hem of Ali’s dress. She pushed Ali’s dress up until she found Ali’s lace underwear and ripped it off. 

Ali gasped and thrust her hips up into the blonde. “Those were expensive, Ash.”

Ashlyn just smirked and drove two fingers into Ali before she could say anything else. Ali came hard a few minutes later and Ashlyn flipped Ali over on to her stomach so she could unzip Ali’s dress and take it off. 

Ali could see the sweat drenching Ashlyn’s shirt. “Take yours off too before you get to hot.” Ali said as she rolled to the side so Ashlyn would have room. Ashlyn took off her shirt and pants but kept her boxers and sports bra on. She then laid flat in the back of jeep and motioned Ali over to her. “You didn’t take it all off.” Ali commented as she positioned herself on top of her fiancé. 

“Because you’re about to ride my fingers until your legs shake so hard that you can’t anymore.”

Ali shuddered and grinded her hips into Ashlyn to relieve some of her built up tension. Ashlyn didn’t waste any time plunging her fingers into the defender, demanding Ali to go faster, curling her fingers at the right time to have Ali’s cum run down her hand and drip on to her toned abs as Ali collapsed on top of her.

“Get up.” Ashlyn said with a coarse voice as she pushed Ali up.

Ali looked at the goalkeeper in confusion. “I’m done, Ash. Let me do you.”

“No. I said you’re going till you can’t anymore. Get up.” 

Ali shakily got on her knees as she continued to straddle the blonde. 

“I want to taste you.” Ashlyn demanded as she grabbed at Ali’s thigh and roughly pulled her forward until Ali center was hovering close to Ashlyn face.

“What are you doing?” Ali asked in a desperate whisper. 

“I’m going to taste you, and then I’m going to give you an orgasm with my tongue that you won’t be able to forget.”

“I’m not going to ride your face, Ashlyn.” Ali declared right before Ashlyn grabbed her ass and pressed Ali’s center right into her face and let her teeth graze against Ali’s clit. Ali moaned loudly as she submitted to what Ashlyn wanted and began to match Ashlyn’s movements. 

As Ali approached her third orgasm of the night her legs began to cave way and she leaned forward to grasp onto the headrests of the two front seats to steady herself. Ali came hard and Ashlyn had to hold Ali up by her hips to keep her from crushing her.

“God, Ashlyn. I can’t go again. I can’t.” Ali breathed out heavily.

Ashlyn smirked and brought Ali down till she was laying on top of the blonde and Ashlyn could feel her hot breath tickle her neck.

“Do you feel good, baby?” Ashlyn asked as she rubbed Ali’s back in soothing circles. 

Ali nodded and kissed Ashlyn's collar bone as she let her head rest against the keeper’s chest. “Best sex we have ever had.”

Ashlyn chuckled and gave Ali a squeeze. “Good to know. Although, it might have just been so good because it’s been a while. Having a kid really puts a damper on your sex life.”

Ali giggled and took a deep breath before slowly getting off Ashlyn. “You’re right. We better take advantage of this.” She said in a sultry voice as she kissed Ashlyn neck before moving her finger tips to the top of Ashlyn’s boxers. “Now it’s your turn.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little drama. Sorry it took me so long to update, I'm trying to get used to classes being in full swing again.

“Ok, buddy. Where’s your mama and mommy, huh?” Kyle asked his baby nephew as he paced the floor rocking his crying nephew in his arms. It was 10 o’clock and Easton had woken up after Kyle had put him down for the night and wasn’t going back to sleep. 

The college student was quickly losing his patience as the baby continued to cry. He knew that Ali and Ashlyn probably went out drinking but he still thought they would come home at a reasonable time. He hadn’t been around them much since they got Easton, but his mom and dad had told him how maturely Ali and Ashlyn were handling their new life as parents. Kyle knew this whole parenting thing was his sister’s decision and even if he supported her, it didn’t mean he necessarily approved. 

He had watched a couple of his college friends get pregnant and have babies over the past three years. Some had dropped out and others were struggling to make it work. He couldn’t imagine how his sister and Ashlyn were supposed to get through college starting off with a baby.

“Come on, little man. Please, please, please go to sleep for Uncle Kyle before his headache gets any worse.”

The boy just continued to cry.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

“Where’s Ali and Ashlyn?” Deb asked when she found her son holding her sleeping grandson on the couch at 12:30 in the morning as her and Ken came in from their party.

Kyle shrugged as he turned his attention back to the tv in front of him. “They went out with friends. I’ve been babysitting since 7 o’clock. Stupid me to think that they would come back at a reasonable hour to take care of their baby.”

“Out where?” is all that Ken asked as he hung his coat by the door.

Kyle knew he couldn’t rat his sisters out so he did what he does best…lied. “I’m not sure. Something about Megan’s house, maybe? I wasn’t really paying attention.” As frustrated as he was at the moment, Kyle wouldn’t throw his sister under the bus like that. 

Deb rolled her eyes and walked over to her son to take Easton out of his arms. “And you couldn’t have put the baby in his crib?”

“I did. Then he woke up and I just got him to go back to sleep an hour ago.”

Ken chuckled. “Yeah, little man is not huge on sleeping lately.”

Deb laughed as she started to head upstairs. “Isn’t that the truth! I’m going to go put him down for the night. Why don’t you guys try to get in touch with the girls.” She instructed her husband and son as she carried her grandson to bed.

Kyle let his mother get up the stairs before he turned to his dad. “I don’t understand why you guys do it.” Kyle let out in frustration.

Ken furrowed his brow at his son. “Do what?”

“Help raise him!” Kyle practically shouted. “I don’t get it. You baby sit. You let them live here. I’m sure you pay for their stuff. Why? They are an engaged couple who thinks they are ready to raise a baby. Let them do it!”

Ken looked at his son in confusion. “We aren’t helping raise him. Ali and Ashlyn do everything for him. Ashlyn has a job to pay for his needs. I don’t think your mother and I do anything more than what a normal grandparent would do. I don’t think we do anything that we wouldn’t do for your children one day.” Ken corrected him.

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I just don’t understand why you let Ali get into this. I mean keeping him tonight was REALLY hard, dad. How do you expect your daughter to handle that and still do well in life?”

“Well, she’s been doing pretty great so far. Look Kyle, you aren’t around all the time to see it, but Ali and Ashlyn really are great moms. And your mom might be struggling with all of this but I'm not. I trust Ashlyn to take care of your sister.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He mumbled as a way to end the conversation.

Ken sighed and looked to the stairs to make sure his wife wasn’t coming down before speaking to his son. “Look, I’m not stupid. So I’m going to assume that if the girls are at Megan’s this late at night then they have probably been drinking. Why don’t you go over to Megan’s and get them. We can worry about Ashlyn’s jeep in the morning. I just want them to get home safely to their son. Okay?”

Kyle nodded and stood from the couch. “Sure. Whatever. You and mom don’t have to wait up. I’ll make sure to get them home safely.” he said as he pocketed his keys and wallet and slammed the door on his way out.

~~ ~~

Kyle drove to bar that he knew most of the high schoolers usually went to that was two towns over. The people checking ids were usually stupid enough to let the fake ids slide. Ali and Ashlyn hadn’t told him exactly where they were going but his guess was confirmed when he pulled into the parking lot and saw Ashlyn’s jeep.

He huffed as he made his way inside, searching for his drunk baby sister wasn’t exactly on his to-do list after he had already been babysitting her son all night. He got in and immediately began searching for them. He finally spotted Abby, Whitney, Megan, and a few more of their friends at a table in the back. He pushed his way through the crowd until he reached them.

“Hey, Kyle!” Whitney said in a chipper, yet sober, voice. She had volunteered to be the designated driver for the night.

“Hey. Where’s Ali and Ash?”

Whitney scrunched her eyebrows as she tried to think of the last time she saw them. It had been almost two hours. “I honestly don’t know, Kyle. I kind of assumed they went home, ya know, since they have a baby and all.”

“Yeah, well they didn’t come home and Ashlyn’s jeep is still in the parking lot.” He said in a curt tone.

“Have you checked the jeep?” Whitney advised.

“Why would they be in the jeep?” Kyle asked in confusion.

Whitney raised an eyebrow at him and Kyle immediately groaned and slapped his hands over his face as realization struck him. “Ewww. Gross mental image there, Whit. God!”

Whitney laughed. “Sorry, but you seriously might want to try looking there.”

Kyle shook his head in disgust as he said bye to the girls and headed towards the parking lot. He approached the jeep with apprehension. The last thing he wanted to see was his sister having sex with her fiancé. When he noticed there wasn’t any visible movement going on in the vehicle he approached a little closer so he could peek in the window…he wished he hadn’t. “OH GOD!” he yelled as he quickly covered his eyes and turned to face away from the jeep.

Ashlyn and Ali’s eyes both snapped open from the sleep they had fallen into when they heard the screaming. Ali was the first to get a look out the window and she immediately recognized the back of her brother’s head. “Oh shit.” Ali mumbled as she grabbed at her dress to pull it over her naked body. “Don’t turn around yet, Kyle. Hold on!” Ali yelled from inside the car.

“Oh, don’t worry. Not only will I never look at that jeep again or ride in that jeep again, I might not ever look at the two of you again.” He shouted back dramatically.

Ashlyn chuckled as she also shrugged on her clothes and opened the door once she and Ali were presentable. “It’s not that big of a deal, bro. It was just sex.” Ashlyn said as she hopped out of the back of the vehicle and patted Kyle on the back. “It’s not like you didn’t know we were doing it.”

“No. It wasn’t just sex. I just saw you and my sister laying naked in the back of your jeep as you slept. And I don’t even want to think about where your hand was when I found you two!” He yelled.

Ashlyn smirked as she thought about her hand still in Ali from the last time she had made her fiancé cum before they eventually fell asleep.  
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. Wipe that stupid smirk off of your face.” Ali was sitting inside the open door with her legs hanging out of the jeep when Kyle turned to her. “And you…” he said in an almost angry whisper as he pointed to his little sister. “I almost expect Ashlyn to run out and have sex in a jeep in a public area, but you? You’re my baby sister. You don’t do this kind of stuff. You’re ALI! You’re a good person!”

“What does me being ‘Ali’ have anything to do with this?” Ali asked in a defensive tone as she crossed her arms. 

“BECAUSE YOU FUCKING KNOW BETTER!” Kyle yelled. “It’s illegal to have sex in public, Alex! And what do you and your high school fiancé go and do? Have sex in a car that’s parked in public! What if a police officer had found you? Not only could you have been charged with a criminal offense but he also would have found out that the two of you are minors and had been drinking!” 

Ali shrunk at her brother’s words. He was never the one to get on to her like this, then again Ali didn’t do things like this. 

“Look, I think you need to back off a little. We were just having a little fun.” Ashlyn tried in her drunken state to soothe things over.

“Back off? Really?” Kyle scoffed. “You know, I’ve kept my mouth shut because I see how much my sister loves you and Easton, but think about this: if you had been caught by the police tonight, whether it had been for public sex or just underage drinking, your lives would have been even more screwed up then they already are. College at UNC? Over with. Having our parents trusting that y’all can take care of a child and be married? Done with. I get that my sister loves you, Ashlyn, but I’m not going to let you drag her into messes that can ruin her life while my family sits at home taking care of your baby!”

By the end of Kyle’s rant, Ashlyn had her head hung low but Kyle didn’t feel bad until he looked from Ashlyn to his sister. Ali’s face was hard as she looked to her older brother that she had always looked up to and admired. 

“You have no right to talk to her like that.” Ali seethed as she stood up from her place in the car so she could stand in front of her brother. “Ashlyn is the best thing to ever happen to me. Ashlyn didn’t ‘drag me’ into anything! Ashlyn isn’t ruining my life. Yeah, so maybe sex in the parking lot wasn’t such a great idea, but you know what? Sex in a parking lot is sometimes as good as it gets when you have a baby at home that needs your attention 24/7. If it was such a burden for you to take care of MY baby for one night then you should have just said something instead of throwing shit in my fiancé’s face for it later!” 

“Alex-” Kyle tried.

“NO!” Ali said poking him hard in the chest. “I don’t like that you just implied that my fiancé is a bad person. I don’t like you implying that she pressures me into things. I don’t like you implying that OUR baby has screwed up our lives. You might be my big brother but I don’t need you to protect me anymore, Kyle. And I don’t care if you don’t approve because I don’t care what you think!” Ali finished as she turned around and pushed Ashlyn towards the driver’s seat of the jeep. 

“Ali, baby, you don’t mean that. You’re drunk.” Ashlyn tried to reason. As much as Kyle had hurt her feelings, she didn’t want to see her come between the two siblings that had always been close.

“Get in the jeep, Ashlyn. We are going home and picking up our son and then going to stay at your grandmother’s.” 

Ashlyn looked from Ali to Kyle as she tried to make a decision. Her son had already lost his biological parents because of drunk driving, she wasn’t about to get behind the wheel of this car. However, she also didn’t want to ask Kyle for a ride. “We can’t, Ali. Let’s go inside and find our friends. Whit will take us home.” She tried to reason.

“Please let me take you two home. I don’t want you two going back into the bar and risk being caught. I’ll even drive you to Ashlyn’s house after you get Easton if you’ll just let me take you home. I promised dad.” Kyle tried to persuade the two teenagers. 

Ali sighed as she took in the worried looks of both her fiancé and her brother. “Ok.” She gave in. “But only because I want to get home to my baby safely. Not because I give a rats ass about you.” She said pointing to her brother and then walking towards his car.

Ashlyn shook her head and followed behind her without even looking at Kyle.

They went through the motions of grabbing what they needed from the Krieger’s house and Ashlyn put Easton in his carseat and Kyle drove them to Ashlyn’s house. 

“Do you need help?” Kyle asked as he watched the two tipsy teenagers get out of his car.

“No. We can take care of ourselves.” Ali said harshly as she watched Ashlyn carry their sleeping son towards the house and unlock the door. 

“And what am I supposed to tell mom and dad in the morning?” Kyle asked.

Ali shrugged. “Start by telling them that you were an ass and insulted me and my family. See where it goes from there.” Ali said as she slammed the door and turned to go inside the house leaving her brother in the driveway.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while. I've been busy working and getting back into the swing of the college semester.   
> Just a quick thing: I have how I want this story to end played out in my head, however, I would be more than willing to take ideas for little things you would like to see happen between now and the time they graduate high school. So hit me up with any ideas you might have, I might be able to do something with them! Thanks!

~~ Christmas Eve Morning ~~

“Morning, Mama.” Kyle greeted as he lazily strolled into the kitchen at around 9 in the morning.

“Good morning, handsome. Why don’t you go get your sister and Ashlyn up and tell them breakfast is almost ready.” Deb instructed him as she gave him a smile and turned back to her cooking.

Ken chuckled, “Honestly I’m surprised they aren’t already down here. Easton is usually the first one up in this house.”

Kyle laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “About that… I took them to Ashlyn’s house after I picked them up last night.”

Ken furrowed his brow. “Why would you do that?” 

“We kind of got in an argument. I probably said some stuff that I shouldn’t have said and Ali didn’t appreciate it. Actually I think her exact words were to tell you guys that I was an ass and insulted her family. So anyway, they are at Ashlyn’s. Which is fine with me.”

“Oh, she’ll come around. Don’t worry about it, honey.” Deb said shrugging it off. “Those two cause more trouble for themselves than anything. They’ll learn how to handle things as adults eventually.”

Ken set his coffee cup down in disbelief. “I don’t understand you. I don’t understand either of you. This is why you hear stories of people’s children running off. Their families don’t support them so they leave! I don’t know about the two of you but I would be devastated if my daughter decided that it was best to stay away from us. I would hate to not see my grandson grow up. I would hate myself for not being the father that Ashlyn deserves.”

Deb shook her head as she turned the stove off and turned to her husband. “You’re overreacting, Kenneth. They’ll be back by this afternoon. Kyle and Ali get in fights all the time.”

Ken shook his head. “You don’t get it. We were so close to losing her when you were refusing to let them get married and treat Easton as their son. SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT, DEB. She would have. And for Kyle to insult their family and us do nothing about it? That’s a sure way to lose her. I’m not losing my little girl because we chose not to support her. I’m not losing any of them because I love Ashlyn and Easton too.” 

“Chill, dad.” Kyle tried to smooth over the situation. “I’ll go over there and apologize after breakfast.”

Ken hung his head for a second before looking up at his wife and staring her in the eyes. “I’m going out.” He said before turning to leave and he slammed the front door of the house behind him.

~~ Three Hours Later ~~

Ashlyn, Ali, and Easton were all cuddled on the couch. Ashlyn was watching an NFL game while playing with Easton in her lap and Ali had her head leaning on Ashlyn’s shoulder as she scrolled through a news article on her phone. “Did you see where that tv show we liked is getting canceled?” Ali asked her fiancé.

Ashlyn giggled at the defender’s vague sentence. “We like a lot of tv shows. Which one?”

“The crime show that comes on NBC about the two doctors.”

“Oh, well that sucks.” Ashlyn replied as she let Easton grab her thumbs. She pulled her hands up and Easton stood unsteadily with his little feet on her legs as he gripped tightly to his mom’s fingers. Ashlyn leaned in to kiss his cheek and the baby giggled as he leaned into his mama. Ashlyn pulled her thumbs away from his hands so she could wrap her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder where he could still face Ali. 

Ali watched the whole interaction with a goofy smile on her face. “Won’t be long till he’s walking.”

Ashlyn nodded, “And talking, and running, and going to school, and going to prom, and going to college, and then leaving us.”

Ali gasped and landed her elbow in the goalkeeper’s side. “Don’t say that. He’s going to stay my baby forever.” She gushed as she held her hands out so Easton would come to her. She pulled him out of Ashlyn’s arms and peppered his face with kisses causing him to giggle. She then set him on the carpeted floor and watched him scoot across the floor to get to one of his favorite toys. 

“He’s almost got the crawling down.” Ashlyn commented as they watched him.

Ali nodded and then curled into the blonde and gave her a kiss on the cheek as they both turned their attention back to the ballgame on tv. 

They heard a knock on the door a few minutes later and Ashlyn got up to answer the door. She was surprised to see who was knocking on the door put opened it anyway. “Hey, Coach.” She greeted Ali’s father.

“Hey, Ash. You mind if I come in?” he asked.

Ashlyn shook her head and stepped to the side to let her future father-in-law in the house. They walked into the living room and Ali and Ashlyn both noticed him set down a plastic shopping bag on the floor before bending down to pick up his grandson. “Hey, buddy.” He cooed as he tickled his grandson’s side causing Easton to giggle and squirm in his arms. He eventually put the baby back on the floor among his toys and then took a seat in a recliner across from the girls. 

Ali looked at her father curiously as he just stared at his grandson playing. “Umm..Hi?” Ali said after a moment of silence from her father.

Ken snapped out of his daze and looked up at them. “Hi. You two ok?” he asked.

“Yeah. We’re fine. You’re the one who came over.” Ali was thinking that her dad was acting really weird.

“Oh, yeah.” Ken mumbled out and his eyes wondered over to the shopping bag he had brought in the house. “Your brother told me that he might have said some rude things to you two last night. I’m sorry about that. I hope it won’t stop you from spending Christmas with us tomorrow. I would hate to miss out on my grandson’s first Christmas.”

“Don’t worry, Coach. We’ll be there.” Ashlyn assured him.

Ken smiled but it turned into a frown as he looked to his daughter. Ali didn’t seem as confident as her fiancé did that they would be there for Christmas. 

“Actually, dad, I’m kind of sick of this thing where my family doesn’t support me. And I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about mom and Kyle. You’ve been great to me and Ashlyn and mom is good about Easton, but she is always riding my back about my relationship with Ashlyn. And then to have Kyle draw assumptions about my whole family? To say some of the things he did last night? That hurt, daddy. It really did. I want Easton to grow up in a supportive environment. Ashlyn’s uncle only lives three hours from here and I’m thinking that it might be best to spend Christmas with grandma and Ashlyn’s family.” 

Ashlyn was shocked but Ken looked absolutely devastated at his daughter’s words. This had been exactly what he was worried about. “Look, sweetheart, I know you’re mom hasn’t been 100% on board with the marriage thing but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want you to be happy. I…I actually went and got you something.” He said as he stood to go grab the shopping bag he had brought in and handed it to the girls. 

Ali looked at it curiously for a second before she took the bag from her dad. She opened it and pulled out a brand new wedding photo album. “What’s this?” 

“I figured you could put your wedding pictures in it when you get married this summer.” Ken said matter-of-factly. 

“This summer!?” Ali asked in shock.

Ken nodded. “You two will be turning 18. I think it’s time. Don’t you?”

Ali nodded her head furiously and got up to hug her dad.

Ashlyn sat back on the couch and thought for a second. “Does Deb know that you’ve told us we could get married?” she asked.

Ken shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m treating you like the adults you have showed me that you could be, not children. Deb needs to accept that y’all are grown and have a family of your own.”

“No, I think it matters, coach. I love that we have your support but if Deb isn’t in favor of us getting married this summer then what are we supposed to do? Ignore that she’s not happy? Even though Ali might deny it right now, I know she wants her mom to help her plan the wedding. And honestly, Deb is the closest thing I have to a mom besides grandma, her involvement in the wedding is important to me also.” 

“I’ll talk to her. She’ll come around. Just promise you all will be at our house by dinner tonight and will spend Christmas with us.”

Ali and Ashlyn looked at each other, communicating silently. “We’ll be there.” Ali eventually agreed.

“Good. Now why don’t you tell me about last night so I can help.”

.....

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Kyle, you need to be on your best behavior tonight. And make sure you apologize to Ali and Ashlyn for last night.” Ken instructed his son as he helped his wife in the kitchen. 

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Kyle said flippantly.

“I’m being serious, son. Your sister has a family of her own now and you need to treat her family with respect whether you agree with it or not.”

“Yes, sir.” Kyle mumbled and started to walk out of the kitchen. 

“And Kyle?” 

“Yeah, dad?”

“It’s my understanding that you might have said some stuff about Ashlyn last night. You might want to think about the fact that you’ve always treated Ashlyn like a sister and you’re the only brother she has left now. It doesn’t sound like you were a very good brother to her last night. Why don’t you think about that when you think about all of the things you need to apologize for.” 

Kyle nodded solemnly and headed out of the kitchen leaving Ken and Deb alone. 

“So, how was our daughter when you went over there?” Deb asked.

“She was hurt by her own family, Deb, and I can’t blame her.”

Deb sighed. “Ken, I know she’s your little girl and that you also love Ashlyn like a daughter, but they’re still just kids. I agree that Kyle probably said things that hurt their feelings and should apologize, but-”

Ken held his hand up to stop her, he didn't want to listen to excuses. “They’re getting married this summer.” He announced. 

“What?” Deb asked in disbelief.

“I gave them permission to get married this summer. They’ll be 18 and seniors next year. If we expect them to go off to college by themselves and raise Easton then we might as well let them start while we are still close by to help them.”

Deb stood there in disbelief. “I never agreed to this. She is just a teenager, Ken! As parents we are obligated to do what is best for our child!”

“And she’s a parent also! Don’t you think the best thing for Easton is to have a stable home? Not shifting back and forth between here and the Harris’. She’s doing what’s best for her child just like we’ve always tried to do what is best for her.”

“But she’s in high school. How can we just agree to this like it’s no big deal? Like everyone in this town won’t judge us for letting our high school daughter marry her girlfriend that she has a baby with?” Deb asked in distress. She couldn’t wrap her mind around this being what’s best for her youngest child. 

“That’s just it, Deb. We don’t have to agree to it. Once they turn 18 they can get married with or without our permission. We might as well let them start planning a wedding for this summer because they’ll be getting married. I’m just choosing to support them because I don’t want to lose our daughter. And I sure as heck don’t want to miss the chance to give her away to Ashlyn at their wedding.”

Deb sighed and looked up at her husband. “And we’re just supposed to stand to the side and pretend like its fine that our daughter is in high school and getting married?”

“Don’t you think Ashlyn is the love of her life?” Ken asked.

Deb rolled her eyes playfully with a small smile playing on her lips. “It’s sickeningly adorable how in love they are.”

“And you think Ashlyn will take care of her?” 

“She hasn’t given me a reason to believe that she won’t.” Deb answered truthfully. 

“Do you want to be a part of Alex’s life and our grandson’s life?”

“Of course I do.” 

“And do you want to help your daughter plan her dream wedding?”

Deb nodded furiously.

Ken shrugged. “Then let her know that when they get here for dinner.”

That ended the conversation and the couple went about getting ready for dinner until they heard the little family of three walk into the house. “Mom? Dad?” Ali called out.

“In the kitchen!” Deb called back.

Ali and Ashlyn walked into the kitchen with Ali holding Easton on her hip. “Hey.” 

Deb turned and smiled at them. “Hey sweetheart.” She put the spoon down that she was cooking with and walked over to give her daughter a hug, being careful to not squish Easton between them. Deb pulled back and she had tears in her eyes as she took in the sight of her daughter holding her beautiful grandson. Her daughter had grown up and she had refused to see it until now.

“Are you ok, mom?”

Deb nodded and wiped at her eyes. “Even if your father didn’t discuss the whole wedding thing with me before he told y’all you could get married this summer, I still want you to know that I’m ok with it. You two are growing up and I just have to accept that. I just love you two girls so much. I’ve been trying to prevent you from making a mistake but I’ve actually been preventing you from doing what is best for your own family. I hope you’ll still let me help and that you’ll forgive me?”

Ali had tears of her own as she passed Easton off to Ashlyn quickly and wrapped her mom in a tight hug. “I will always want your help, mama.” She whispered in her mother’s ear.

~~ After dinner ~~

“Can I talk to you?” Kyle asked as he came to sit by Ashlyn on the couch. Easton had been put down for the night shortly after dinner, Ken was in his office, and Ali and Deb were looking at a wedding magazine in the kitchen. 

“Sure. What’s up?” she said, not taking her eyes of the television.

“Umm, I wanted to apologize for last night. Ali is my little sister and I always want to protect her, but I can’t claim to be the best brother and last night I certainly wasn’t a good one.”

Ashlyn looked up at him with an appreciative smile. “Kyle, I don’t fault you for being protective over Alex. That’s something that you and I have in common.”

“No, you see Ash, I wasn’t a good brother to you. I said some really awful things. I treated you how other people see you instead of how I see you. I know you to be kind, smart, funny, compassionate, and brave, but I treated you like the stuff other people think of you, not by who I know you to be. I’m sorry. I really am.” 

Ashlyn looked up to him and saw the sincerity in his eyes and reached over to pull him into a hug. “Thank you.” She whispered as she choked back a few tears. “I’m really glad to hear that because last night I thought I had lost the only brother that I have left.”

Kyle shook his head and pulled her even closer until she was practically sitting on his lap. “You aren’t going to lose me. Sometimes I lose my mind and say stupid shit but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Ash. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to this family. I love you.”

“I love you too.” The blonde squeaked out as she buried her face in Kyle’s neck and just let him hold her for a minute.

Ali and Deb looked on quietly from the doorway and Ali had the biggest smile on her face as she watched them have their bonding moment. She was more than happy to share her big brother with her fiancé.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took FOREVER and I'm so sorry about that! I'll try to do better. If you guys have any ideas for this story to help my creativity then send them to me!

“Ashlyn! Ashlyn! Ashlyn!” Ali yelled down the hallway of the school as she came running up to her fiancé. 

Ashlyn looked away from her locker to catch a glimpse of the defender running full speed at her with a piece of paper in her hand. Ashlyn closed her locker and waited for Ali to reach her. “What’s up?” Ashlyn asked catching the excited look on Ali’s face.

“Look!” Ali exclaimed as she shoved the piece of paper in the blonde’s hands.

Ashlyn read the paper quietly to herself before a big smile spread across her face. “You’ve been invited to the defensive specialty camp at the University of Florida!? That’s great, Alex!” 

“I know! My dad got the letter this morning.” She had a huge grin on her face and Ashlyn thought it was absolutely adorable.

Ashlyn went back to reading the letter so she could catch all the details. “Ok, I think Easton and I can manage without you for two weeks. And the wedding is in June so a July camp won’t interfere with those plans.” 

“And I won’t miss Easton’s birthday! It starts the week after. I couldn’t miss my baby’s first birthday.” Ali said with more excitement growing in her each second.

“Alright. Looks like you’re going to camp. Give me until I get my paycheck this Friday and we can send in the check and your admission forms.” Ashlyn said with a smile and handed the letter back to Ali.

Ali furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean? My dad will pay for it.” 

“No he won’t.” Ashlyn insisted. 

“Yes, he will. He just told me he would when he gave me the letter.”

“I’m not having your parents pay $700 for a camp that you will be attending as a married woman. When you go to this camp you will be married to me. That means we handle the financing of it. Not your dad.”

Ali sighed. “We need to save our money, babe. If we’re getting an apartment we need to be able to afford it during soccer season when neither one of us are working.”

“We can. It will be fine. You start your job at the daycare next week, working three days a week, I still work every day but Sunday. We can afford for you to go to this camp without asking your parents for money.”

Ali shook her head. “Forget it. I just won’t go.” She mumbled before turning to walk away.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and grabbed Ali’s arm to stop her. “Stop being stupid, Alex. You’re going to the camp.” 

“No I’m not. I refuse to use the money that is meant for our family in order to go to some camp. I’m not going to be that person who puts herself before her family. You won’t let my dad pay for it and I’m not letting you pay for it. End of discussion.” She said walking off and leaving Ashlyn to walk to their next class by herself. 

At lunch Ashlyn found herself outside her coach’s office instead of the cafeteria. She knocked on the door frame of the opened office to get Ken’s attention. “Hey Coach.”

Ken looked up and smiled at his soon-to-be-daughter-in-law. “Hey, sweetheart. What’s up?”

Ashlyn walked into the office and plopped down on one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. “Ali told me about getting invited to that camp at the University of Florida.”

Ken smiled with pride. “It’s great, right?” 

Ashlyn had a smile play on her lips, she really was proud of her girl. “It’s amazing. The thing is, I insisted that we pay for it and not you. To which she said that she wouldn’t go and waste our money on that.”

“Well then I trust you will do what’s best for my daughter and take up my offer to pay for it.” Ken said sternly, not really leaving room for the goalkeeper to argue with him. 

“I would like you to pay for it, because I want Ali to go. However, I would like you and Deb to make a list of things you need done around the house and I will do them every Sunday on my day off to pay you all back.” 

Ken rolled his eyes playfully at the teenager sitting infront of him. “Ashlyn, she is our daughter. We are more than happy to pay for it. You don’t owe us anything.”

“No disrespect, Coach, but she will also be my wife soon. I’m uncomfortable taking money from you when you are already paying for the wedding. Please let me do some work for you guys so I will feel better about you paying for the camp.”

Ken sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell Deb to come up with some stuff for you.”

Ashlyn smiled brightly at him. “Awesome! Thanks, Coach. I know this camp is going to be really good for Ali. Do you think we can keep our financial deal to ourselves? I rather Ali just think I'm helping you out on my days off instead of paying you back for her camp.”

Ken nodded. “I think I can manage that. I have a lot of respect for how you want to take care of you and Ali. And, not to get your hopes up, but I thought you should know, U.S. Soccer’s U-19 team requested some game film of yours. I, of course, sent it to them immediately. I can’t say anything will come of it but it’s nice to know you are on their radar.”

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Really. It's nothing definite but it's something. Now get to your next class.”

“Yes, Sir.” Ashlyn said with a playful salute and ran out of her coach’s office. 

~~ ~~

“You’re going to camp.” Ashlyn whispered to Ali as she came and sat beside her in their next class.

“I already told you, Ashlyn, I’m no-”

“I talked to your dad.” Ashlyn cut her off. “I talked to your dad and he’s paying for you to go, so you’re going.”

“Yeah?” Ali asked for assurance with a grin. 

Ashlyn smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on Ali’s cheek. “Yeah.” She whispered before turning her attention to the teacher who was walking into the classroom. 

~~ ~~

“Hey, Grandma!” Ali announced her presence to Grandma Harris as she sat her backpack down and reached for her seven month old son who was playing on the floor. 

“Hey, sweet heart. Are you and Ashlyn here tonight or with your parents?” Grandma asked as she walked into the living room from the kitchen. 

“I think we are going to be here. At least this is where Ashlyn said she was coming when she gets off work.”

“Ok, good. I’m making one of her favorite meals for dinner. She’s been so busy lately that I feel like I never get to see her.”

“I know. It kind of sucks.” Ali said with a pout as she kissed the top of Easton’s head. “I’m going to take him upstairs with me to the bedroom while I work on some homework.”

“Ok, sweetie. If he gets to be too much to handle then feel free to bring him back down here with me.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” Ali said as she held Easton tightly in one arm and grabbed her backpack before heading upstairs. 

Ashlyn came home a little after 7 and found her grandmother in the kitchen setting the table for dinner. “Hey, grams!” Ashlyn announced herself as she walked in.

“Oh, hey baby girl. Dinner is almost ready. Ali is upstairs working on some homework and she has Easton with her.”

“Awesome. I’ll go get them.” Ashlyn said as she placed a gentle kiss on her grandmother’s cheek and then made her way up the steps to her bedroom. 

The blonde walked in to her favorite site in the whole world. Ali had obviously pushed her school books to the side and she was sound asleep with Easton laying on her chest and her hands holding him securely in place. 

Ashlyn crept over to the bed and slowly got in and put her arms around them. She then kissed the defender’s face gently until Ali’s eyes fluttered open. 

“Hey, sleepy head. Time to wake up. We also better wake the little one up or we might never get him to sleep tonight.”

Ali groaned. “What time is it?”

“Almost 7:30.” 

“Crap. He really will have a hard time sleeping tonight.”

“It’s fine. I have a paper that I have to write tonight so I’ll probably be pulling an all-nighter anyway.” Ashlyn said as she kissed her fiancé’s shoulder and then reached for her son. 

Ali watched as the goalkeeper carefully woke up their sleeping baby. Easton was obviously glad to see his mama as he almost immediately smiled at her. Ali rolled her eyes knowing full well that she wouldn’t get that kind of reaction out of him if she had been the one to wake him from his nap. 

“Ready to get some dinner?”

“Yea. Go ahead and go downstairs. I’ll be right there.”

Once everyone was downstairs, Grandma had all the food on the table and they all settled down to enjoy dinner. “So how was school today?” Grandma asked. 

“It was awesome! I made a “C” on my Chemistry test!” Ashlyn said excitedly.

Ali rolled her eyes as she feed Easton some of his baby food. “Only you would consider that awesome.”

“Oh really, and what did you make, Miss Smarty Pants?” 

“An ‘A’.” 

“Well it sounds like you both did well in your own right.” Grandma said with an amused smile at the two.

“You see, grandma, I’m marrying up. I got myself a smart woman.” 

Grandma laughed. “That you did, sweetheart.”

“I did pretty well myself.” Ali insisted as she looked Ashlyn in the eye. She hated for Ashlyn to think she wasn’t smart also. “I have the most hardworking fiancé. Grandma. She tried to convince me to let her pay for a very expensive soccer camp that I’m going to this summer. She literally tries to give me everything.”

“Because you’re my everything.” Ashlyn said cheekily.

Ali rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss the goalkeeper’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too, babe. I really really do.”


	13. Chapter 13

“I swear to god, Ashlyn, if you let go of him.” Ali warned as she watched her fiancé play with Easton in the pool at the hotel. Their group of friends had decided it would be fun to go to Orlando for spring break and go to Disney World. It was their teammates’ way of trying to include Ali and Ashlyn since they had a kid. The young couple didn’t have the heart to tell them that Disney World wouldn’t actually be that fun with a 9 month old because he was too young to do anything, so they agreed to go anyway. And much to Ashlyn’s displeasure, Grandma insisted on paying for it as a gift. 

“I’m not going to let go of him, Alex. I’m not stupid.” 

Ali rolled her eyes as she sat anxiously on the edge of her lounge chair. There were several other families around the pool with older kids and it made the young mom nervous. 

“Hey! Are we still going to fireworks show tonight?” Pinoe asked as slid into the chair behind Ali and scared the anxious defender. 

“God, Megan, you could have announced your presence.”

Alex laughed as she, Abby, and Whitney came up to the pool also. “She wouldn’t be Pinoe if her hyperactive self wasn’t running around and scaring people.”

Ali giggled. “That’s true.”

“So are you guys finished soaking up the sun and ready for an early dinner?” Abby asked.

Ali shrugged. “I guess so if you guys are ready to go. Just let me get Ash and Easton out of the pool and cleaned up. We should be ready to go in about 30 minutes.”

“Sounds great.” Abby said and the four teammates walked off and left Ali to get her little family together. 

Ali walked to the edge of the pool and watched with a big smile as Ashlyn played with their little boy who was giggling as she splashed his hands into the water. The past couple of months had been a little crazy, and she was glad that Grandma had insisted that they come on this trip with their friends. In two months’ time they would be getting married, and then starting their senior year of high school a month after that. Time was flying by and it was nice to just take a moment to relax. 

“Ash, its time to get out of the pool.” Ali instructed after she had let the duo play for a minute longer.

Ashlyn looked up and pouted at the defender. “Awww, do we have to, mommy?”

Ali playfully rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid so. We promised our friends that we would go to an early dinner and then back to the park to watch the fireworks tonight at the castle.”

Ashlyn sighed and made her way to edge of the pool, holding Easton up for Ali to take before pulling herself out of the pool. They made their way back to Ali’s lounge chair and Ashlyn started to dry herself off with a towel while Ali took care of Easton. Ali finished drying off her baby and gave a kiss to the top of his head before looking up to see Ashlyn bring the towel from her shoulders down to the arch of back. Ali licked her lips and tried to fight off the desire building in her at watching her tan and physically fit fiancé in a bikini. 

“See something you like?” Ashlyn asked with a chuckle when she noticed Ali staring at her.

Ali snapped out of her daze with a blush and looked back down to their son that she had sitting in her lap. “Been a while.” Ali mumbled.

Ashlyn laughed and leaned over to kiss the top of Ali’s head. “Yes, it has been. Maybe we can see if the girls would like to take their nephew to the castle by themselves.” The blonde suggested.

“We can’t let him experience his first fireworks show without us!” Ali exclaimed, even though she really really thought Ashlyn had a good idea. 

Ashlyn shrugged. “It’s just an idea. We’ll see how you’re feeling after dinner.” Ashlyn said with a smug grin on her face as she sauntered off and left Ali behind to watch her walk away. The goalkeeper could hear Ali groan as she followed after her.

~~

“Ashlyn, I’ve warned you about leaving him on the bed. If you aren’t watching carefully then he could just crawl off now.” Ali chastised as she picked up Easton while he was still a good two feet from the edge of the bed. 

“I was watching him.” Ashlyn defended herself as she buttoned the last button on her polo shirt.

“Whatever. You ready to go, stud?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Ashlyn said as she grabbed her wallet and then led her little family down to the hotel lobby.

~~ 

The group of friends were sitting around the table, having just finished up eating and they were all laughing and joking around. 

Ashlyn draped her right arm around Ali’s shoulders as she saw the defender finish feeding Easton. Ali looked up to her fiancé and smiled. “What?” Ali asked with a cheesy grin when she saw Ashlyn looking down at her.

Ashlyn smirked and then leaned in to whisper in Ali’s ear. “I can see down your shirt from this angle and I can’t stop thinking about the things I want to do to you.”

Ali’s eyes went wide and she blushed as she looked down to examine the blouse she was wearing. It was a little low cut and she could see the problem with it from Ashlyn's angle. 

Ali just shook her head and tried to turn her focus back to the conversation that their friends were having. Her concentration didn’t stay with her friends long when the brunette felt the goalkeeper’s left hand slip over to her thigh and started rubbing it. Ashlyn’s hands slipped closer to the inside of her thigh and Ali had to close her eyes tightly to focus on not moaning. When Ashlyn’s hand finally went too far, Ali’s hand shot to hers and removed it roughly. 

The sudden movement and look of frustration on Ali’s face didn’t go unnoticed by their friends. “You ok over there, Kriegy?”

“Yep.” Ali nodded weakly.

Everyone just kind of shrugged and went back to their conversation. 

Ashlyn rolled her eyes, it seemed that she wasn’t going to get what she wanted unless she took the situation into her own hands. She leaned over to Whitney sitting beside her and whispered. “Want to do your best friend a favor?” 

Whitney raised an eyebrow at the blonde. “What kind of favor?”

“Take your nephew to the fireworks show.” 

Whitney’s face turned to confusion. “And you and Ali will be doing what?” 

Ashlyn just wiggled her eyebrows and Whitney’s face immediately turned to disgust. “Gross. I didn’t need to know that.”

Ashlyn just shrugged. “You asked. So are you in? I just need the few hours that you’ll be gone. You can drop him off when y’all get back to the hotel.”

Whitney sighed. “Fine, but you owe me.”

Ashlyn grinned and pecked her best friend’s cheek quickly. “You’re the best.” 

As the group got ready to go, Ashlyn made sure to set the stroller up and put Easton into it. 

“I can just carry him, babe. We don’t have to mess with the stroller.” Ali offered.

Ashlyn shook her head. “Nope. I’m getting him all set up for his aunts to take him out while we go back to the hotel.” She informed her fiancé as she draped a blanket over the baby boy and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. 

“What?” Ali asked in confusion.

“I talked to Whit. We have a couple of hours to ourselves. Don’t question it.” Ashlyn said as she pushed the stroller over to her bestfriend and handed it off. 

Ali jumped out of her confusion and into mom-mode as their group of friends got ready to take her baby off. “Ok, ummm, his diaper bag is in the bottom of the stroller, and if you have ANY problems then call us.”

Whitney chuckled. “I got this, mommy. I’ve babysat him a few times.” She said with a wink.

Ali sighed. “Ok. Well, have fun.”

Ashlyn nodded in agreement. “Yes, have fun, and thank you for taking him.”

“No problem. Just don’t leave to many marks on Ali. I don’t want to see proof of what I’m in enabling in the morning.”

Ali blushed and Ashlyn just chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.” Ashlyn said with a wink and it earned herself a slap from her fiancé before Whitney and the other girls walked off towards the park with Easton. 

As soon as they were back in their hotel room, Ashlyn was pushing Ali towards the bed. 

“I can’t believe you asked them to watch Easton while we have sex.” Ali mumbled into the blonde’s lips as Ashlyn pinned the defender to the bed.

“You shouldn’t be surprised. It’s been far too long.” Ashlyn said as she slid her hands up Ali’s shirt and left open mouth kisses down her neck. 

“Three weeks.” Ali agreed and then gasped as one of Ashlyn’s hands found her nipple and pinched it. “I thought you said you were going to be gentle.” Ali reminded her.

Ashlyn smirked down at her. “Yeah, that was a lie.” She said before taking a hold of Ali’s shorts and panties and pulling them down quickly. She dropped her head to Ali’s navel and started kissing her way down. “Take your shirt and bra off. I’m going to want see every part of you tremble when I make you come.” Ashlyn demanded. 

Ali didn’t hesitate to strip her upper half of all her clothes. Ashlyn saw how wet Ali was for her and licked her lips before leaning down to put a single tongue stroke to the defender’s throbbing core before pulling away. Ali groaned and looked at Ashlyn in confusion. 

“Touch yourself.” Ashlyn instructed her while the blonde worked on taking her own clothes off. 

Ali nodded and watched Ashlyn strip down to nothing as she almost made herself come on her own fingers. Once Ashlyn was naked she pushed Ali’s hand away laid her body on top of Ali’s so they were chest to chest. Ali could feel Ashlyn’s hand come between them and gasped as Ashlyn roughly shoved two fingers into her. 

“How does that feel, baby?” Ashlyn whispered into Ali’s ear as she shifted her fingers around and got comfortable inside Ali.

“So good. So good. Please just fuck me.” Ali begged and bucked her hips up into the blonde to indicate that she wanted Ashlyn to start pumping her fingers. Ashlyn gave in to what the defender wanted, but she also allowed her own hips to match the action, allowing herself to cum against her own hand just as Ali reached an orgasm that sent her eyes rolling in the back of her head. 

“You good, baby?” Ashlyn asked as she let Ali settle down for a second before pulling her fingers out. She took her other hand and brushed some of the brunette’s sweaty hair out of her face. 

Ali nodded and caught her breath before reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing Ashlyn’s phone. 

“What are you doing?” Ashlyn asked. 

Ali handed the phone to the goalkeeper. “Tell Whit that she’s keeping Easton all night. We aren’t anywhere near finished.” 

Ashlyn smirked and leaned down to place a quick, passionate kiss on her fiancé’s lips before dialing her best friend’s number.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all probably hate me for taking so long to update this! Sorry!   
> Let me know what you want to see in this story or anything else that I've written. I like having ideas about what y'all want to see.

“What do you think?!” Ashlyn asked, slightly worried that her fiancé might freak out.

Ali examined the blonde’s ribcage carefully. Ashlyn had explained to Ali that she had been working with a tattoo artist to do something special in memory of her brother. Ashlyn had always admired tattoos and she wanted to get one that was really important to her. Ali was supportive of the tattoo idea. She just hadn’t realized that Ashlyn was going to go with such a big one for her first time. 

“I like it. I can see why it took you almost all day at the tattoo parlor.” Ali answered carefully, making sure she didn’t hurt the goalkeeper’s feelings. She was already a little annoyed that Whit had dropped the blonde off, who was a little intoxicated, after having been gone all day. 

“Thanks! I go back in two weeks for them to do the color and finish it off.” She said excitedly. 

“So you’ll have it finished before the wedding? Great.” Ali responded as she watched the blonde examine her side in the mirror. 

“That’s the plan!” Ashlyn said happily as she rewrapped her side so the tattoo could heal. “Who knows, if I like how this one turns out then maybe I’ll get a tattoo for you somewhere on me.” She said with a wink and fell back onto their bed with a cheesy grin. 

Ali gave her a tight smile. “Maybe.” She mumbled out. She would definitely have to get used to this tattoo thing. 

“I can’t believe we’re seniors now.” Ashlyn let out in amazement as she stared up at the ceiling. 

Ali had to restrain from rolling her eyes. They had finished up their junior year of high school two days ago and because Ashlyn had to work all of Saturday she didn’t get to go celebrate with everyone until tonight. Whit had taken her to get the tattoo early that morning and then they had partied all night. Leaving Ali stuck with an intoxicated fiancé. 

“Yep. Seniors. About to get married in three weeks. We are supposed to go look at apartments next week. It’s about to get crazy.” Ali responded as she went and laid down beside Ashlyn after checking to make sure the baby monitor was on for the night. 

“Holy shit, Als! We’re getting old!” the blonde said in disbelief and at this point Ali was having a really hard time not laughing at her. 

“We aren’t old.” Ali countered. 

“Yes we are, Alex. Just you wait. Soon we’ll be taking our little boy to school and have real jobs. We aren’t going to be in high school forever.”

Ali finally laughed. “Ash, you do realize our baby is only about 11 months old, right?”

“Exactly.” Ashlyn answered in dazed confusion and Ali just rolled her eyes as she worked on getting the drunk blonde completely in the bed before she passed out on her.

~~ ~~

“Alex! Quick! Come here!” Ashlyn called from the living room.

Ali came running down the stairs, worried that something was wrong. She leapt to the floor from a couple of steps up and rounded the corner quickly to see Grandma and Ashlyn smiling proudly at Easton taking small steps across the room towards Ashlyn. 

“Oh my god. Is he walking?” Ali asked with tears filling her eyes. 

Ashlyn nodded as she kept her phone camera trained on her son as she recorded his first steps. “He pulled himself up on the tv table and then the next thing I know he’s walking towards me.” Ashlyn informed her. All three women gushed over him for a minute until he finally fell about half way to Ashlyn. They watched him for a second to see if he would cry or stand back up, but when he did neither Ali quickly went over and picked him up, smothering his face in kisses. 

“I can’t believe my baby is walking.” Ali gushed as she walked back over to grandma and Ashlyn and sat down beside them with Easton in her lap. 

“Just wait. He’ll be running in no time and then you’ll really have to keep up with him.” Grandma playfully warned them. 

Ashlyn groaned. “Can’t wait.”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“Damn it, Kyle. Lift with your knees!” Ashlyn called out from the other side of the couch that her and her future brother-in-law were trying to get up the stairs to her and Ali’s new apartment. 

“I’m trying!” He yelled back. 

Ali could hear her fiancé and brother trying to get up the stairs and just shook her head and giggled as she continued to put away their kitchen items into the cabinets. “Your mama and uncle are crazy, baby boy.” Ali told Easton who was playing happily in his bouncer in the corner of the kitchen. 

“Finally!” Kyle said as he dropped his end of the couch as soon as he walked in the door, leaving Ashlyn standing there still holding her end. 

Ashlyn looked at him dumbfounded. “I don’t think your sister wants her couch right in the middle of the door.”

Kyle just shrugged and went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Ali rolled her eyes and gave her fiancé a sympathetic look. Ashlyn put the couch down and also came into the kitchen to grab a drink.

“When is your dad getting here? He’ll be a hell of a lot more help than that dumbass.” 

Ali laughed and handed Ashlyn a stack of plates. “Soon. He was bringing the last truck load of my stuff from our house. Now can you put those on the top shelf? I can’t reach.” Ali asked the taller girl. 

“Why are we putting plates where you can’t reach them? That sounds dumb.”

“Because those are the nice plates that we won’t use very often.” Ali explained.

Ashlyn looked at her confused. “Why do we have plates that we won’t use?”

“Because they were an early wedding present from the Wambachs. Its fine china. Everyone has it. No one uses it. It’s just a thing people get when they get married. You use it for holidays and really nice dinner parties.” 

Ashlyn just shook her head and put the plates where Ali wanted them. None of this made any sense to the poor blonde. 

~~ ~~

“Ash!? Baby?” Ali called out as she entered her apartment with Alex and Pinoe. She didn’t get a reply and she sighed in relief as she opened the door the rest of the way and let her two teammates in. 

“Where should we put the dress?” Alex asked about the wedding dress that she and Pinoe were carefully carrying. 

“There is an extra closet in Easton’s room that we don’t use. She won’t find it in there.” Ali said as she led the two down the hall towards her son’s room. She had just finished her final dress fitting and just had a week left before the wedding and she wanted to make sure Ashlyn didn’t see her dress. 

“Where is Ash anyway?” Megan asked after the dress was carefully tucked away in the closet. 

“She is supposed to be getting her tattoo finished up today. Whitney went with her and took Easton.”

“Cool. So how is it being on your own now?” the blonde asked as she plopped down on the couch in the living room. 

Ali laughed and sat down with Alex following suit. “It’s not so bad because Ash and I had pretty much been taking care of ourselves before we moved out, but it’s still scary sometimes. I mean, we’re 17 years old, but I know we’re ready for this.” 

“You’re braver than I could be.” Alex admitted. “If I have a baby when I’m a junior in high school then I will probably freak out and never ever leave my mom.” She semi joked. 

Ali shrugged. “I mean I imagine I would have freaked out if I had gotten pregnant or something like that, but the way we got Easton was so different. We both just want to do right by him. He’s already had one set of parents disappoint him, dying because they were driving drunk. I think us wanting to be the best for him has kind of kept are freak outs to a minimum.”

Both of her teammates nodded in understanding. 

“Enough of the serious talk!” Megan laughed. “What’s the honeymoon details?!” she asked with a smirk.

Ali giggled and shook her head at her friend. “Not much of a honeymoon for us. One, we can’t afford it. Two, we don’t really have time. Ashlyn can’t really take too many days off of work and neither can I since I have to take two weeks off for that camp in July. Easton’s first birthday is the first week in July and we certainly can’t miss that.”

“Wait! Are you telling me that you’re not having a honeymoon?!” Megan asked with a dropped jaw.

Ali shrugged. “Ashlyn suggested that we get her grandma to keep Easton for a whole day and night. Figured we could do some surfing, have a fancy dinner, come home and have our own little fun and then pick him up the next morning.”

“That’s crazy! You two deserve a real honeymoon! More than just a night away from your kid.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. But it’s ok.”

Megan just shook her head in disappointment. 

~~ ~~

“What days does Ali work?” Megan asked the blonde goalkeeper. 

“Right now she’s working at the daycare on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Why?” Ashlyn asked distractedly as she worked on the car in front of her. She was very concentrated on getting a scratch off the driver’s side door, and her teammate dropping by the shop to just say hi was distracting her. 

“Well, you’re getting married in two days and it’s my understanding that you still don’t have a honeymoon planned. 

“Can’t afford a honeymoon, Pinoe.” Ashlyn said seriously. 

“I know. Which is why I asked your boss on the way in for you to have the Monday off after the wedding.” 

“You did what!?” Ashlyn asked as she quickly turned around to the shorter blonde. 

“I asked for you to have Monday off. And I asked my granddad a favor. You have your boating license and my granddad happens to have a small yacht. Saturday night, after your wedding, you and Ali are going to get on a fully stocked boat and sail away. You won’t come back till Monday afternoon. Do you understand?” 

Ashlyn looked at her friend in shocked disbelief. “You planned a honeymoon for us?”

“Yep.” Megan said, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word. 

Pinoe didn’t even see it coming until the goalkeeper had her wrapped up in her arms. “You are the greatest friend ever, Megan Rapinoe. I can’t thank you enough.” Ashlyn whispered in her ear, trying to hold in her emotions. 

“You don’t have to thank me. Just consider it a wedding gift from me and my family. My dad is the one who came up with the idea. He knows you won't screw up my granddad's boat since you've driven ours several times.” 

“You guys are the best.” Ashlyn said giving her friend one more big hug.

“Anything for you two. You deserve it. You two have been through a lot this past year. I’m glad to see it’s all working out for you…And I’ll deny this if you ever tell anyone but…but I really look up to you, Harris. You are one of the best people I know. And you’re marrying a pretty fantastic girl also.”

“Thank you, friend. Thank you.” Ashlyn said as they shared one more emotional hug.


	15. Chapter 15

“Owww!” Ashlyn almost screamed as she felt pressure to the sunburn that covered her back. Ali and Ashlyn had just gotten back from their short little honeymoon the night before and the goalkeeper couldn’t even sleep on her back because it was so sunburnt. 

Ali laughed and Ashlyn could hear a small baby giggle and knew that the pressure on her back was her son climbing on top of her. 

“Alllleeexxx, get him off.” Ashlyn whined as her almost one year old climbed on her back. 

“Fine, you big baby.” Ali said and grabbed Easton and brought him to lay on top of her.

Easton didn’t waste time snuggling into his mom’s chest and sticking his thumb in his mouth. Ashlyn turned her head to face the pair and smiled. 

“He sure does love his mommy.” The blonde commented as she reached over to stroke the dark blonde hair that covered her son’s head. She noted that his hair was turning darker as he got older. 

Ali gave a nose crinkling grin and kissed Easton’s forehead. “I love him too and I missed him so much. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have to go to camp and leave him for two weeks.” 

“Umm excuse you. Won’t you miss me too?” Ashlyn asked in mock offense. 

Ali giggled. “Of course I will.” 

“You better. Now be a good wife and get me some lotion to put on this sunburn.” Ashlyn teased. 

Ali just laughed in her wife’s face. “Yeah. That attitude won’t get you anything. Put lotion on your own damn back.” Ali said with sass as she got out of bed and carried Easton with her towards the kitchen.

Ali could hear Ashlyn get out of bed and start moving around so she figured now was a good time to start making breakfast so they could both get to work on time. She put Easton in his high chair and poured a few cheerios on the table in front of him before getting some eggs out of the refrigerator. Ali laughed to herself as she heard the blonde let out a scream as she turned the water on in the shower. The brunette just shook her head, she had told Ashlyn repeatedly to re-apply sunscreen while they were on the boat. 

She was finishing up breakfast and putting it on the table when Ashlyn’s phone started to ring. Ali rushed into the bedroom really quick to answer it since Ashlyn was still in the shower. 

“Hello. Ashlyn Harris’ phone.” Ali answered since she didn’t recognize the number that was calling. 

“Hi, this is Michelle French, coach for the U.S. Women’s U-20 team. Is Ashlyn there?” she asked. 

Ali’s eyes went wide. “Oh wow. Yes, she’s here. Give me one minute to get the phone to her.” Ali quickly put the phone on hold and rushed into the bathroom. 

“Ashlyn! Get out of the shower right now!” Ali yelled as she grabbed a towel and ripped open the shower curtain. 

“What’s going on?” Ashlyn asked in a panic as she turned the shower off. 

Ali held up Ashlyn’s phone. “It’s the coach from the U-20 national team.”

Ashlyn had a look of shock on her face as Ali threw a towel at her and then handed her the phone before walking out of the bathroom.  
Ali waited impatiently in the kitchen as the goalkeeper talked on the phone in the bedroom. 

Ashlyn finally walked in with a big smile on her face and it made Ali smile herself. “What did she say?!” Ali asked excitedly. 

“I got invited to camp! It literally starts like two days after your camp ends but I think we can make it work.” 

“That’s so great, baby!” Ali exclaimed as she quickly brought Ashlyn into a hug and gave her a kiss. 

“I also told her I was married. She said that we were more than welcome to get you and Easton a room at the same hotel but that I couldn’t stay with you.” 

Ali shook her head. “No, no. You should go and have fun without worrying about us. If you can take care of Easton for two weeks without me then I can take care of him for a little while without you.”

“You sure?” Ashlyn asked hesitantly.

Ali just giggled and kissed Ashlyn’s cheek. “Baby, we’re married. We do this kind of thing for each other. I’m so incredibly proud of you, babe. You are going to rock that camp!”

Ashlyn gave her wife a goofy smile. “You think so?” she asked biting her lip.

Ali nodded and gave her a nose crinkling grin. “I know so.”

“You’re awesome.” Ashlyn said with a quick peck to her wife’s lips. 

“I know.” Ali said with a sassy smirk. “Now eat your breakfast so you can get to work.” 

~~ July 6th ~~

Ali and Ashlyn watched their friends chase Easton around the yard of the Krieger’s home and laughed at the hilarity of Whitney tripping Abby just because Easton giggled every time Abby fell. 

“I can’t believe our baby is one year old.” Ali said in a sad tone as she let her head rest against the blonde’s shoulder.

“You can’t believe it?!” Kyle scoffed from beside the couple. “Imagine how I feel. My baby sister has a one year old. I’m getting old.”   
Ashlyn and Ali both laughed at his dramatics before Kyle eventually left to go chase his nephew with the rest of their friends. 

“I should go get the icecream cake from inside.” Ali commented as she stood up and patted the goalkeeper’s shoulder as she walked past her.

“I’ll help!” Ashlyn insisted as she followed her wife into her in-law’s home.

“Hey girls. Everyone having fun?” Deb asked as she saw the couple walk into the kitchen. 

“I think so. I figured we should go ahead and do cake since it will be Easton’s nap time soon.” 

“It’s in the refrigerator. The paper plates are on the table over there.” Deb pointed out as prepared the hamburgers that they would be grilling out for all of the girls’ friends later that night. 

“Thanks, mom.” Ashlyn cheesed as leaned in to place a kiss on her mother-in-law’s cheek. 

Deb just shook her head and laughed as the blonde skipped out the door with the paper plates and forks and left Ali to carry the icecream cake. 

“I’m married to a three year old.” Ali grumbled as she took the cake out of the refrigerator and made sure to stick a "1" candle in it. 

Deb laughed. “I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact you’re leaving her alone for two weeks.”

The defender groaned. “Don’t remind me. I’m already dreading having to clean our apartment once I get home. I know she’ll take good care of Easton but I’m worried about all of our other belongings.”

“You should be.” Deb said playfully before swatting her daughter’s butt as she walked out of the kitchen with the birthday cake. 

Ali walked out to see that Ashlyn had gotten everyone gathered around the picnic table and had Easton sitting in her lap. Grandma Harris had even come outside to sit by them and watch her great grandson blow out his candles. Ali set the cake down and lit the single candle that was on top. All of their friends and teammates sang happy birthday to the one year old before Ali and Ashlyn both helped him blow the candle out. 

Ali cut the cake and let Easton have a piece. The baby immediately stuck his hands in the cake and made a mess of himself and Ashlyn as he mushed the cake to his face and turned to show his mama his dirty hands by smearing cake on the blonde. Both of his moms just laughed and gave his sticky cheeks a kiss. Their baby was a year old. Who would have thought they would have come this far?


	16. Chapter 16

“Here’s the deal, Alex, you are going to go and have an awesomely fun two weeks at camp. You aren’t going to think about me and Easton. We will be fine. Make lots of new friends and kick butt. Understood?” Ashlyn asked as they stood beside her jeep in the parking lot after they had already gotten Ali checked in and her suitcase up to her room. 

“Understood. Although, you can’t stop me from thinking about you and Easton. I’m going to miss you both.” Ali said with a pout.

Ashlyn sighed. “Fine. You can miss us but don’t worry about us.”

“Ok. I think I can do that.”

“Good. Now give me a goodbye kiss and get back to your room so you can meet your roommate.”

Ali just giggled and leaned up on her toes to place a sweet kiss to her wife’s lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Have fun, baby. I’ll be here to pick you up in two weeks.” Ashlyn said with one last peck to her lips before she turned to get in her jeep and drive away. 

Ali watched her wife drive off before she went up to the dorm room she was staying in for the next two weeks. She had been one of the first to get there that morning and it seemed a lot of people had come in since she went down to say goodbye to Ashlyn. 

She walked into her room and saw a girl standing at the bed opposite of hers, unpacking a suitcase. The girl turned around when she heard Ali walk into the room and offered a big smile. “Hi! You must be my roommate!” she greeted. “I’m Kelley O’Hara. I’m from Georgia.”

“Ali Harris.” Ali introduced herself offering the girl her hand to shake. “I’m from Satellite Beach, Florida.” 

“Nice. So you must get to surf a lot.”

“Umm, it’s not really my thing but I have friends that do.” Ali said, thinking about how her wife surfs every chance she gets. 

“Cool. I’ve always wanted to try. I hear the West coast is the place to go if you want real waves.”

“I think I’ve heard that a time or two.” Ali commented before she heard a knock on the door frame of their open dorm. 

Both girls turned to see this girl who had an exotic tan, dark hair, bright green eyes, and a killer smile. “Hey girls. I’m Katie. My roommate and I were about to go grab some lunch before our first meeting. Would you guys like to join?” 

Ali and Kelley both shrugged and agreed before following the tanned girl out into the hall. “So what are your names?” Katie asked as they began walking down the hall with Katie’s shy roommate following several steps behind. 

“Kelley O’Hara.”

“Ali Harris.” 

Katie looked at Ali skeptically. “Harris…you look familiar. Do you play around here?” 

“Satellite Beach High School.” 

“State Championship team! Yes, now I remember. My school came in third.” Katie said cheerfully and Ali just hoped the girl didn’t remember that she played that tournament as a Krieger instead of Harris. Katie then stopped dead in her tracks as they walked into the cafeteria. “Ah, the real reason I came.” She said licking her lips. Ali looked up in confusion to see the cafeteria filled with some other girls from their camp but mostly really tall guys. 

“What are they here for?” Kelley questioned her.

“Basketball camp. God, aren’t they fine?” She gushed as she started walking towards the food line. Katie winking at a couple of the boys she caught staring. “I already got one of their numbers earlier when I bumped into him on the sidewalk. I’m sure he could gather up some friends for all of us later on tonight.”

Kelley jumped in thinking that it was great idea but Ali’s eyes went wide and she looked to Katie’s roommate who seemed disgusted with the idea as well. 

“I’m Ali.” Ali greeted as she stayed back a step to talk to Katie’s roommate.

“Becky. Becky Sauerbrunn.” 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ali responded, already having the feeling that she was going to like Becky more than Katie. 

~~ ~~

“Why are you calling me? You’re supposed to be having fun.” Ashlyn said as soon as she answered the phone that night.

“I am having fun!” Ali defended herself. “I just wanted to make sure you got home safely and that our little munchkin was ok. I can do that and have fun.”

“Well then, yes, I did get home safely. And Easton is perfect.”

“He doesn’t miss me?” Ali asked, and Ashlyn could hear the pout in her wife’s voice. 

“Of course he does, but he’s also really proud of his mommy for getting to this camp and just wants her to have fun and work hard.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “I doubt he told you all of that.”

“He didn’t have too. I know he feels the same way that I do.”

Ali was about to respond when Katie, Kelley, and a couple other girls come barging into the room. “Harris, come on!” Katie yelled. “We are going to a party on the lawn over at the boy’s dorms.”

Ashlyn heard what was said and started talking before Ali even had a chance to tell her what was going on. “Go ahead and go, Alex. Have fun and I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

Ali sighed. “Love you too.” She responded before hanging up. 

“Who was that? Your boyyyyfriennnd?” Kelley teased.

Ali got shy suddenly in front of her new friends as Kelley teased her. “Umm, no. It was my mom.” Ali lied quickly. 

“Whatever.” Katie said with an eyeroll. “Let’s just go hook up with hot boys. Come on.” She said before walking out of the room and everyone followed her. 

They got to the party and Katie had two or three guys on her the second they walked up. Kelley went to get a drink and had a guy start talking to her by the cooler. Ali just looked around in dazed confusion. She didn’t really want to be here but she didn’t see any way around it. If she wanted friends at this camp then she had to come to this thing. She fiddled with the ring on her left hand for a minute before she slowly slipped it off and stuck it in her pocket. She just had to get through these two weeks. 

~~ ~~ three days later ~~ ~~

“God. Look at those two.” Katie said as she stuck her nose up in disgust at two girls walking by their table at lunch. "I bet they're just going to sit with their table full of lesbian friends. So gross.” 

All of the other girls at the table just nodded in agreement except for Becky and Ali. Ali just looked at Katie like she had grown two heads. “What’s wrong with them being gay?” she asked.

“It’s gross. There are so many fucking hot guys out there. Why would you want someone who couldn’t even satisfy you?” 

“Well, I think love is love and you shouldn’t judge someone based on what they find attractive.” Ali retorted. 

“Why does it even matter to you?” Katie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ali eyes went wide and she stumbled for an excuse. “Ummm…umm my brother is gay.” She offered up eventually. 

“Whatever.” Katie said with an eyeroll before turning away from Ali and back to another conversation. 

~~ ~~ One week later ~~ ~~ 

“Ok, so I think it’s safe to say that Ali was dancing with the hottest guy of them all. Right?” Kelley asked as the big group of girls sat around in Katie and Becky’s room after they had all gone to another party with the guys from the basketball camp. 

“Hell yeah. I would give him 9 for sure.” One girl spit out in her drunken state. 

“Or a 10. Ali did do pretty good. Don’t you think he’s a 10, Harris?” Katie asked Ali.

Ali blushed, in all honesty she really didn’t think much of him. Sure he was an attractive guy but Ali was just dancing with him to fit in. “Umm, I would probably give him a 7.” Ali answered truthfully. 

“A 7?! They must grow them good where you’re from if you think that’s a 7!” Kelley exclaimed, her southern accent coming out thick. 

Ali just shrugged and noticed her phone was ringing. “I got to answer this.” She said before excusing herself into the hallway to talk to her wife. 

“Hey, baby.” Ali whispered as she answered the call.

“Hey. You still having fun and learning a lot?” Ashlyn asked.

“I am. Just missing you.”

“Two more days and I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, and then you leave for camp. I feel like we’re spending our whole summer apart.” Ali whined.

Ashlyn just chuckled. “You must be forgetting that we got married this summer. I think that says something for us having a great summer together.”

Ali sighed dramatically. “Fine. The first part of our summer was great. This second half is torture.” 

“I know, baby. I won’t keep you from your friends for long. I just wanted to tell you goodnight and that I love you.”

“I love you too.” Ali said quietly as she let her thumb rub across her ring finger where her wedding ring had been missing the past two weeks. Ali was just ready to have this camp over with so she didn’t feel the pressure of these other girls.

“I’ll see you soon, Alex. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Ali mumbled before hanging up the phone and standing there in silence for a moment. 

“Was that your fiancé?” Ali heard come from behind her.

Ali immediately whipped her head around to find Becky standing there. “What?” she questioned innocently. 

Becky rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to hide the fact your gay in front of me. Honestly I think you let the girls off a little easy with what Katie said last week. I mean, I knew you were gay so I was going to let you deal with but you didn’t do much.”

“How…How did you know I was gay?” Ali stuttered out.  
“I saw you with that blonde girl in the parking lot on move in day. And then you had a ring on your finger that first day at lunch but you took it off that night. So I’m guessing fiancé?” 

“Wife actually.” Ali mumbled out. 

Becky’s eyes went wide. “Wow. Wasn’t expecting that one. How old did you say you were?” 

“About to turn 18. It’s all a little complicated but I love my wife. Age doesn’t matter when you know you love someone as much as I love her.” 

Becky nodded. “It’s cool. I’m not prying in your business.”

“Thank you…Actually, you know how you said you had to be at that U.S. soccer camp a couple of days after this one ends?” Ali asked.

“Yeah. What of it?” 

“My wife will be one of the goalkeepers there. Ashlyn Harris.” Ali smiled proudly.

“No way! I’ll make sure to look for her.” 

“You should be able to meet her when she picks me up on Friday.” 

“Looking forward to it. You know, I like you, Harris. Maybe we’ll end up playing on the same team one day.”

“USA?” Ali asked with a cheesy smile.

“USA.” Becky said with a head nod and smile.

~~ ~~ Friday ~~ ~~

Ali paced anxiously on the sidewalk waiting for Ashlyn and her dad to get there. The camp always did a big BBQ lunch on pick-up day for the athletes’ families where they went over videos from the past two weeks and gave out a few awards, so Ali’s dad had jumped at the opportunity to come and meet some of the Florida coaches and ask questions.

Ali saw them pull up in her dad’s truck and she rushed out to meet them in the parking lot. Ali didn’t waste a second wrapping her arms around the blonde as she stepped out of the passenger side. Ashlyn hugged her back tightly before pulling back a bit. 

“You got to let go of me, baby. I brought you a surprise that I can’t leave in the car.” Ashlyn said as she opened the back door and let Ali see Easton sitting in his carseat, bouncing at the sight of his mommy.

“Oh my god!” Ali squealed as she moved quickly to pull him out of the car, covering his cheeks in kisses. “Mommy missed you so much, baby. I’m never leaving you for that long again.” She promised as she held him close to her. 

Ali’s dad came around the truck and pulled his daughter into a side hug. “I hate to rush y’all but we got here kind of late and you only have 10 minutes before that luncheon starts. We should head on over.” Ken suggests as he nods his head to the big white tent on the lawn that is holding dozens of tables and chairs.

“Of course.” Ali says as she begins walking that way with Easton still in her arms. 

As they neared the tent she saw Katie, Kelley, Becky and their families all sitting at a table together and Katie was motioning her over. Ali became extremely nervous and began looking for another table that could fit them all but she couldn’t find one. She passed Easton to Ashlyn’s arms and then guided them through the tables towards her friends. 

“Hi.” Ali said shyly as she pulled out a chair for Ashlyn to sit in and motioned her dad to a chair. As soon as they were all seated Easton was squirming in Ashlyn’s arms trying to get to Ali but the blonde held on to him so Ali could focus on her friends. The girls went around the table introducing their parents to everyone and then it got to Ali. 

“Tell us about your family here, Ali.” Katie said curiously, thinking it was odd that the brunette had a girl their age and a baby as her guests.   
Ali struggled for words and when her eyes met Becky’s the other defender gave her an encouraging nod. Ali took a deep breath and was about to talk when one of the camp leaders stood up at the microphone and began an introduction. As soon as the intro was over they were all instructed to go through the lines and get food. When they all settled back at the table Easton was dying to be in Ali’s arms. 

Ashlyn chuckled as she tried to hold on to him for a second longer but her son wasn’t having it. Ali quickly set her plate down and reached for the baby boy. 

“Looks like someone missed his mommy.” Ashlyn said as she looked at them with a big smile but she noticed how Ali’s face immediately dropped at her words. 

“Mommy?” Katie questioned with a laugh.

Ashlyn looked from Ali to Katie with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah. He’s our son.” Ashlyn said, confused why Ali’s friend was questioning this information. 

“Want to explain, Harris?” Katie asked Ali with a smirk, knowing that she had caught Ali in a lie. 

“This is Easton. He’s mine and Ashlyn’s son.” Ali stated plainly.

“Uh huh. And who is Ashlyn?” Katie asked.

Ali’s head dropped and her jaw clenched before she finally mumbled out, “My wife.”

“That’s weird. I never saw a wedding ring.” Katie said in tone that just suggested her motives were pure evil. 

Ashlyn looked at Ali confused and then saw that the left hand Ali was using to her rub their son’s back was bare. “Where’s your ring, Alex?” she asked in a near whisper.

Ali flinched. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her wife. “It’s in my room.” 

Ashlyn nodded sternly before she pushed her chair back from the table. “I think I forgot Easton’s diaper bag in the car. I need to go get it.” The blonde said before grabbing Easton from Ali’s arms and walking out from the tent and towards the parking lot. 

Ali just gaped at her wife’s retreating form before she looked to Katie. “What the hell was that for?” Ali seethed. 

Katie shrugged. “Come on, Ali, it was plain as day that you were gay. I was just punishing you for hanging around me all week so you could probably go around checking out all of us girls.”

“Shut up.” Ken whispered out rather harshly and then looked to Katie’s mother sitting beside her. “You should be ashamed that you let your daughter talk that way to my daughter just because she’s gay.” He spit out before grabbing Ali’s arm and leading her away from the table. 

Ken didn’t need to say anything once they were outside the tent for Ali to go running towards the truck. She found Ashlyn sitting, leaning against the front tire with Easton curled up in her arms. She was crying. Ali had made her wife cry because of her stupidity.

“Ash?” Ali whispered out as she bent down beside the goalkeeper. 

“Go away, Alex.”

“I’m not leaving you here. I get you’re mad. I know that I should have told my friends that I was married but that Katie girl can be so harsh! She literally bashed lesbians right in front of me. She’s cruel!” Ali tried to reason. 

Ashlyn looked up at her wife with hurt written in her eyes. “You think I'm mad because that girl is a jerk? You think I’m mad because you decided to live life like a normal teenager for two weeks? I’m not mad, Alex. I’m heartbroken. I’m heartbroken that my wife is ashamed of being married to me because I’m a woman. I’m heartbroken because my wife apparently went a whole two weeks making friends and didn’t bother to tell her friends that she had a son. I’m heartbroken you let me come up here and bring our son only for me to be embarrassed because your friends didn’t know a damn thing about us.”

“Ashlyn, I’m so-”

“No.” the blonde cut of the defender’s apology. “I can handle you being ashamed of me but not Easton. You don’t do that to our son, Alex. He’s my blood. He’s the only thing I have left of my family besides my grandma. You are supposed to be his mother and you acted ashamed of him.”

“Baby, I’m not ashamed of him. Not of him or you. You have to believe me.” 

Ashlyn just shook her head and looked away from her wife. “Go get your stuff, Alex. I want to go home.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Ashlyn? Can we talk now?” Ali asked a day after they had gotten home from camp. Ashlyn had taken Easton and spent the night at her grandmother’s house leaving Ali alone at their apartment. Ali had initially been relieved to see Ashlyn come home the next day but Ali knew she was still in trouble when the blonde didn't have their son with her. 

“I don’t want to talk right now. I need to pack.” Ashlyn stated bluntly as she shoved some clothes into her duffle bag. 

“Ok. You still fly out tomorrow morning, right?”

“Yep.” Ashlyn said, not turning to face her wife.

“Well, I hope you have a really great time. Easton and I are going to be good here while you’re gone. Are you going to go get him from your grandmother tonight or do I need to pick him up in the morning?” Ali asked as she stood in the doorway to their bedroom. She was trying to stay calm and act like an adult but her wife was making it hard.

“Actually I think he’ll be staying with my grandmother while I’m gone.” Ashlyn said with little emotion.

Ali’s eyes went wide. “Excuse me?” she asked, not sure if she heard the goalkeeper correctly.

For the first time since she walked in the door the blonde looked up to the defender and their eyes met. “I asked my grandmother to keep him.”

“Why would you do that?” 

“Because I don’t want to leave him with you.” The blonde said coldly.

Ali’s eyes lit in anger. “You can’t do that! You can’t say that I can’t keep our son, Ashlyn. He’s my baby. He belongs here with me!”

“And I think he belongs with someone who loves him and isn’t ashamed of him!” Ashlyn yelled back.

“I’m not ashamed of him, Ashlyn! I love him! I love him more than anything. You know that!” Ali cried.

“Do I? Do I know that, Alex?” 

“We are married.” Ali said sternly as she took a step towards her wife. “How dare you question my love for you or our son? That is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.” Ali spit out.

Ashlyn just rolled her eyes. “God, Ali, don’t you see that you’re the one who gave me reason to believe otherwise. I didn’t come to this conclusion on my own. For god's sake Alex, you took off your wedding ring!” 

“I made a mistake, Ashlyn. One little mistake. I should have told the girls at camp that I was married and that I had a son, but I didn’t. I let peer-pressure get to me. For the first time since I came out as gay at the age of 15 I finally let haters get to me. And I’m sorry! I’m sorry that hurt you but I can’t always be as strong as you, baby. Sometimes people do hurt my feelings. Sometimes my instinct is to just protect myself. I’m just asking for you to forgive, Ash! Please!" 

"And if we're busy protecting ourselves then who protects our son? Who stands up for him and says its alright that he has two moms?"

Ali looked absolutely defeated. "Ash, I can only say I'm sorry. I don't have any other words to describe how guilty I feel."

Ashlyn sighed as she heard her wife’s pleas and her anger dissipated a little bit. “I…I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty for other people hurting your feelings.” Ashlyn whispered out. “I just…We have to be strong, Ali. We can’t let people get us down. We can't let other people make us feel ashamed. If we do that then they win. Your friend Katie won the other day. She made us both feel like shit.”

“She’s not my friend.” Ali quickly pointed out.

“Ok, your friend or not, she made you question yourself. Our marriage and our son can’t be something you question. Do you know how bad that made me feel? It made me feel like I was wrong to trust you, Alex. It made me feel like I shouldn’t have given my nephew’s heart over to you so easily.”

“Easton is my whole world, Ash. You know this. I’m sorry I made you feel that way but I promise it won’t happen again.”

Ashlyn nodded and reached out to grab Ali’s hand. “I believe you, but I also think you should take some time to yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Ali asked with a puzzled expression. 

“I mean let my grandmother keep him for a couple of days. She mentioned to me the other day that she could officially give us custody of Easton when we are both 18. She wanted to know if I was ready for that since your birthday is at the end of this month and my birthday is the next month. I told her I would talk to you. I thought it was a no-brainer. That I would mention it to you and then we would legally be his parents in two months. Now, after yesterday, I want to give you some time to make sure you’re ready. Let him stay with my grandmother for a few days. Go have fun with our friends. Be a teenager. And then you can go get him from grandma when you want him.”

Ali shook her head. “There is nothing to think about, Ashlyn. That’s why I married you. I already thought it through. In two months we will legally be his mothers. And in a couple of years, when we have college degrees and jobs, we will have babies and Easton will be their big brother. I don’t question this. I don’t question this at all.”

“It’s only going to get harder, Alex.” Ashlyn tried to reason. “The peer-pressure doesn’t stop. You’re talking about us going off to the same college and making new friends and you will be married and you will be a mother and people will judge. It’s inevitable.”

“And I am capable of handling it. I’ve learned my lesson. Spending last night here in our apartment without you and Easton is something that I never want to happen again. I won’t let it happen again. Come home. Let me take you to the airport tomorrow morning. Let me facetime you every night to show you all of the amazing things I’ll be teaching our son while you’re gone. Please?” Ali said with a hopeful expression that brought a small smile to the blondes’ face. 

Ashlyn nodded. “Ok. But I was serious that I really do want you to think about the legal custody thing. We can’t go back from that. And I do think you should spend some alone time and let grandma keep Easton for you when you need some time.”

“There is nothing to think about, baby.” Ali said in an assured tone as she moved in to wrap her arms around the blonde.

“Just do it for me. We’ll talk about it more when I get home. You never know, 12 days alone with a 1 year old might drive you crazy. Trust me.” Ashlyn teased.

“I think I’ll be good, stud. I really do love you, Ashlyn Harris. I will never do anything to make you doubt that again. I'm so incredibly proud to be your wife.”

“I love you too.” Ashlyn said as she leaned in to place a gentle kiss to her wife’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short but I had to resolve the issue so I could move on with the story.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm horrible about updates. I will admit this. Life has been beyond crazy this semester. I can tell that I'm a junior in college because the work just keeps getting harder and harder. I finally had a small break this weekend that produced this very short chapter. We get a little bit into the history of Ashlyn's parents in this one. Stay patient with me. I promise I will keep writing, I just can't promise it will always be steady updates!

“Hey! Did you get to your hotel ok?” Ali asked as she answered a phone call from her wife.

“I did. I’m actually in my room now waiting on my roommate to get here. What are you up too?” Ashlyn answered. 

“Taking your advice actually. I asked grandma to keep Easton for today and tomorrow. I dropped him off about an hour ago and I’m getting things ready at the apartment for a slumber party with the girls.”

Ashlyn smiled into the phone, she was glad Ali was taking some time to have fun. “Great. Just don’t trash the place. I cleaned right before you came back from camp.”

Ali giggled. “I’ll try not to, but you know how the girls can get.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I know.”

“Are we still ok?” Ali asked in a small whisper. Her wife had let her drop her off at the airport and it mostly seemed settled but the defender still felt like they had separated on a weird note for them.

“Yeah, baby, we’re ok.”

“Promise?” 

“Promise. I love you.”

Ali sighed. “I love you too. I’ll let you go so you will be free when your roommate gets there.”

“Ok. Have fun with the girls.”

“Have fun at camp.” Ali replied before hanging up. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“You’re Ashlyn Harris, right?” a blonde girl said as she approached the table that Ashlyn was sitting at for dinner that night. A few of the other goalkeepers were also sitting at the table and they all looked up at the girl.

“Umm, yeah. Hi.” Ashlyn said with a small wave and motioned for the girl to sit down with them.

“I’m Becky Sauerbrunn. I’m a defender. I met your wife, Ali, at the Florida camp last week. She told me to make sure I look for you here.” 

Ashlyn smiled at the fact Ali had in fact told at least someone that she was married at camp. “Well I’m glad you introduced herself. Ali said she learned a lot at that camp. Did you enjoy it?”

“I did. It was a great camp. I wasn’t particularly fond of my roommate but I’m sure Ali probably told you about her.”

“That Kate girl?” Ashlyn questioned.

Becky nodded.

“Yeah. She’s a bitch.” Ashlyn said with a chuckle. 

The defender laughed. “Definitely. You and Ali have a little boy, right?”

Ashlyn smiled brightly. “We do. His name is Easton.” She said as she pulled her phone out to show her screensaver to the defender, it was a picture of the two of them giving a smiling Easton a kiss on both of his cheeks. 

“Adorbable.” Becky gushed. “I don’t know how but he actually looks like a really good cross between the two of you.” She joked. "When I saw him at that luncheon I could have sworn he was Ali's kid.

Ashlyn chuckled. “Well that would be a miracle, and totally awesome. I would love for us to have a baby that looks like the two of us. But he’s actually biologically my nephew. My brother and his girlfriend passed away almost a year ago.”

Becky looked up at the goalkeeper with a sad expression. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “I miss my brother. I wish Easton didn’t have to grow up without his real mom and dad, but I also couldn’t imagine life any other way. I mean, my brother had never even brought Easton to meet me or my grandmother before he died. If my brother had never died I probably wouldn’t have even had much of a relationship with my nephew. It’s crazy to think that a nephew I probably would have barely known is now my son who I love more than anything in the world.”

“I guess the story has a happy ending. He seems to have two pretty great moms.” Becky said with a sincere smile.

“Yeah, especially Ali. She just took on the challenge no questions asked. She’s kinda great like that.” Ashlyn said with a sad smile as she thought back to her and Ali’s argument.

Becky noticed the goalkeeper’s expression and gave a sympathetic smile. “I don’t want to get into yours and Ali’s personal business, but I can vouch for the fact that Kate would have made her life hell for those two weeks if Ali had said she was gay. Ali might not have told anyone she was married but she also didn’t go around doing stupid stuff like she wasn’t married. She just kept her head down and tried to get through the camp.”

Ashlyn nodded and gave her a smile. “Thanks. We did have a small fight but we’re good now.”

“Good! Now tell me about your high school.” The defender demanded as she changed the subject.

~~ ~~ One week Later ~~ ~~

“Hey, there’s my two favorite people.” Ashlyn said with a bright smile as she saw her wife and son appear on her phone screen after answering the facetime request.

“Hey, baby! You having fun?”

“I am. Everyone is so good, Alex. Like I feel like I’m barely keeping up.”

“I’m sure you’re doing great. Don’t underestimate yourself.”

“Thank you for believing in me.”

“Always! Now look at what your son did!” Ali said as she walked over to one of the walls in their living room with Easton in her arms. She then flipped the phone camera to show the blonde a whole bunch of black marks on the wall.

Ashlyn laughed. “How did he do that?”

“I was cooking and left him here in the living room with his toys. I could see him the whole time and I thought he was just playing. Apparently he took one of his blocks and beat it against the wall. It marked it up pretty bad.”

“Have you tried cleaning it?”

Ali rolled her eyes at her wife. “What do you think? Of course I’ve tried. I even went and bought one of those Mr. Clean Magic erasers and I couldn’t get it off. You’re going to have to paint when you get back.”

Ashlyn chuckled. “Whatever you say, baby.”

“Oh, I paid our school dues yesterday so if you notice on our account that I wrote a pretty big check then that’s what it’s for.”

Ashlyn groaned. “I don’t even want to be thinking about school right now...or money for that matter.” 

“Better get used to it. We start our senior year in two weeks.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Ali giggled, “Well I need to get our boy down for a nap before we go to your grandma’s for dinner, so I’m going to have to go.”

Ashlyn nodded. “Alright. Bye, Alex. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby!” Ali said blowing her a kiss and then taking Easton’s hand and helping him blow a kiss to his mama before hanging up.

~~ ~~

“Thank you so much for dinner, grandma. You really didn’t have to go to all this trouble.” Ali said as she started taking the plates to the sink as grandma sat at the kitchen table holding Easton in her lap and feeding him icecream. 

“Nonsense. I love being able to cook for the people I love. It’s strange not having Ashlyn here all the time. I feel like as soon as I finished raising my own children, I started raising my grandchildren, so I've always had kids to feed. Ashlyn’s dad was my oldest. Chris was born while Joey, my youngest, was a senior in high school. So it was a pretty quick transition from full-time mom to full-time grandma.”

Ali finished putting the plates in the sink and turned to give grandma an endearing smile. “Ash doesn’t really mention her parents anymore. She used to…back when we first met and we were becoming best friends. She always told me her parents were divorced so it was just easier to live with you since they were busy with their jobs. Then when we started dating she finally told me that they weren’t really busy, they literally just never came to visit her or Chris.”

Grandma nodded. “I’ve never been as disappointed in someone as I am in my son.”

“Where are they?”

Grandma shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. First, not that Ashlyn meant to lie to you, she probably hasn’t even thought about the fact it was a lie, but her parents were never married. Her mother was a drug addict who left permanently when Ashlyn was 7. My son left when Ashlyn was 9, he would come back for holidays until she was about 12 and then he stopped. I think she got a birthday card from him when she was 14 with an address from Arizona on it.”

Ali shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. “I don’t understand how someone could leave a daughter who is as perfect as she is. She is so much better off having you as a mother than that woman who left her.”

“I still failed them. Chris is dead and Ashlyn is living a life that is well beyond her years. I failed them.” Grandma admitted sadly as she looked down at the baby boy in her arms.

Ali didn’t hesitate to rush over to pull grandma into her arms. “You didn’t. Chris messed his life up himself and Ashlyn’s life is perfect. We might be a little unconventional but we have an amazing life. I know I wouldn’t trade it for the world and neither would Ashlyn. You didn’t fail either one of them.”

“Thank you for saying that, Alexandra.”

“I’m not just saying it. I mean it. You are incredible to Ashlyn, and to Easton, and to me. We all love you very much.”

Grandma smiled and wiped a stray tear from her eye. “I love you all too. So much. You and Ashlyn are such incredible mothers.”

Ali smiled brightly at the older woman. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

“You think you’re ready to legally be his mother?” Grandma questioned.

“Absolutely.” The defender said with a serious expression. She didn’t want anyone to doubt her commitment to Ashlyn and Easton.

“Perfect. You three are going to be perfect. I know it!” Grandma said with a happy smile and leaned down to kiss Easton’s cheek.


End file.
